Department of Health and Social Care

Department of Health and Social Care:ICT

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish his Department's guidance on Ministers' use of personal (a) devices, (b) emails or (c) communication apps for official business.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding his Department allocated for a communications campaign to promote the seasonal booster programme for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

NHS Trusts: Expenditure

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total spend on postage was by NHS trusts in England in each of the last five years.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Hospitals: Construction

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what was the total spend on consultancy fees for the New Hospitals Programme since 2019.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

NHS: Workplace Pensions

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in what month he expects changes to NHS pensions caps to be implemented.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

NHS: Staff

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of NHS staff who have emigrated abroad in each of the last five years.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Ambulance Services: Emergency Calls

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has provided additional support to emergency control rooms to respond to changes in ambulance call volumes.

Will Quince: The management of ambulance 999 call demand is an operational matter for the National Health Service.To improve call handling performance, the NHS is boosting the number of 999 call handlers to 2,500 nationally, and has established a new digital intelligent routing platform that seamlessly shares call handling demand across ambulance trusts so they can support each other during the busiest periods.

Hospitals: Planning

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take with local healthcare commissioners and providers to plan for the provision of new hospitals in areas which will require new hospitals in the next 10-20 years; and what recent assessment he has made of the date when York will require a new hospital.

Will Quince: Local health infrastructure needs are determined by local health system planners at integrated care board level in collaboration with NHS England and are not separately assessed by the Department.The Government has committed to delivering 40 hospitals as part of the New Hospital Programme, backed by an initial £3.7 billion for the first four years. As with any multi-year investment, future funding for will be set out in further detail at future spending reviews.Expressions of interest for the next eight new hospitals to conclude the commitment to deliver 40 new hospitals were received from trusts across the country. The expressions of interest have been assessed and the Government intends to make an announcement in due course. No expressions of interest were received from York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Radiotherapy

Greg Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to update the reimbursement tariffs to incentivise modern forms of radiotherapy such as adaptive radiotherapy.

Helen Whately: NHS England has signalled its intent to revise the reimbursement arrangements for radiotherapy as part of its consultation guidance, released in December 2022. The new arrangements aim to deliver the NHS Long Term Plan ambition to incentivise innovative forms of radiotherapy and timely equipment replacement.

Health Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reasons his Department is publishing a major conditions strategy rather than a 10 year cancer plan.

Helen Whately: The Major Conditions Strategy will include cancer along with other major conditions.Many major conditions, including cancer, share common risk factors and common challenges. The majority of cancer patients will have at least one other condition covered by the strategy.

Cancer: Radiotherapy

Greg Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to improve radiotherapy services to reduce cancer treatment waiting times.

Helen Whately: Since 2016, around £162 million of central investment has been made to replace or upgrade around 100 radiotherapy machines. This means that every radiotherapy service has access to modern equipment.11 Radiotherapy Networks were established across England in 2019/20 to drive improvements, ensuring all patients can access the very best treatment regardless of where they live.NHS England will be undertaking a capacity and demand review of external beam radiotherapy capacity in 2022/23. This will support local systems to plan radiotherapy provision and allocate system capital allocations appropriately, based on an assessment of equipment age, capacity and demand and opportunities to improve access.

Cancer: Radiotherapy

Greg Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what specific steps he is taking to increase access to radiotherapy cancer treatments.

Helen Whately: NHS England, as the accountable commissioner for radiotherapy services, is responsible for setting evidence-based national service standards. This includes service specifications, clinical commissioning policies and ensuring the implementation of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Technology Appraisal Guidance within local systems.This has led to the expansion of access to stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy, selective internal radiation therapy, stereotactic radiosurgery/stereotactic radiation therapy, brachytherapy and proton beam therapy. NHS England actively encourages clinicians to submit proposals to expand the range of clinical commissioning policies, helping to ensure that patients remain able to access the latest evidence-based treatments and care.

Essential Tremor: Magnetic Resonance Imagers

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2022 to Question 96644, how his Department plans to support the national uptake of the NICE guidance on MR-Guided Focussed Ultrasound for Essential Tremor.

Helen Whately: Once the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published its guidance on a procedure, such as MR-Guided Focussed Ultrasound for Essential Tremor, National Health Service organisations should consider whether the proposed use of the procedure complies with the guidance before approving its continued use in their organisation.

Radiotherapy

Greg Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many additional radiotherapy LINACS have been purchased to increase the overall fleet of LINACS used in the NHS in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2023.

Helen Whately: Until the publication of capital planning guidance covering the period 2022-25, the responsibility of replacing radiotherapy equipment sat with NHS trusts delivering radiotherapy services. NHS England does not hold central records of the machines that trusts purchased directly in 2020, 2021 or 2022.However, prior to release of the 2022-25 capital guidance, a further circa £32 million of central capital was allocated to support the replacement of circa 17 linear accelerators (LINACs) in the period 2021-22. This was in addition to the circa £130 million central capital investment which enabled the upgrade and/or replacement of circa 100 LINACs during the period 2016-2019.

NHS: Artificial Intelligence

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure that the NHS can benefit for advances in artificial intelligence.

Will Quince: The Department is funding the NHS Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (NHS AI Lab), which was created to accelerate the safe, ethical and effective adoption of AI in health and social care.The NHS AI Lab has provided more than £100 million to 77 of the most promising AI technologies, through its Artificial Intelligence in Health and Care Award. The technologies are being tested and evaluated in 53 hospitals and support clinicians in diagnosis, monitoring disease and managing health conditions at home.The NHS AI Lab is also working on projects focusing on streamlining regulation, to make it easier for the health and care system to deploy AI technologies as well as improving the route for AI vendors into the system.The NHS AI Lab is working with regulatory organisations, such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and Medicines and Health products regulatory Agency, and the wider AI community, including the Alan Turing Institute and the Ada Lovelace Institute, to ensure AI technologies are ethical and safe.

Poisoning: Testing

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of offering patients routine NHS testing for poisoning from heavy metals and volatile organic compounds when poisoning is suspected.

Will Quince: The Department has made no assessment of the potential merits of offering patients routine National Health Service testing for poisoning from heavy metals and volatile organic compounds when poisoning is suspected.Testing for heavy metals where diagnosis of heavy metal poisoning is a possibility may include blood testing, 24-hour urine collection, long bone X-ray in children and chest X-ray as listed in the following link:https://patient.info/doctor/heavy-metal-poisoning#ref-4

Life Insurance: Genetics

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Association of British Insurers about the genetic discrimination against applicants for life insurance.

Will Quince: The Code on Genetic Testing and Insurance (the Code) is an agreement between the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and the Government which aims to prevent genetic discrimination and provide reassurance to the public about genetic testing and access to life, critical illness, and income protection insurance products. Given advances in genetics and genomics, to ensure that the Code remains fit for purpose, the Government and the ABI agreed the Code should be reviewed, in a joint process, every three years. The first review of the Code, conducted by the Department and ABI, was published in December 2022. It sets out further steps which will be taken over the coming year to gather further information, via a call for evidence and stakeholder workshops, to ensure the Code remains mutually beneficial for both consumers and the insurance industry.

Telemedicine

Dean Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of virtual wards on bed capacity in NHS hospitals.

Will Quince: As set out in the National Health Service Delivery plan for recovering urgent and emergency care services, virtual wards enable patients to remain in their own home supported by family or carers to recover quicker in a more comfortable environment. In some cases, virtual wards can replace the need for admission, and in others facilitate people being able to safely leave hospital sooner.The NHS has successfully rolled out 7,000 virtual ward beds, with capacity increasing by nearly 50% since the summer. It has a further ambition to scale up capacity ahead of next winter to above 10,000 beds, with a longer-term ambition of reaching 40-50 virtual ward beds per 100,000 people. This would mean more than 50,000 admissions a month.

National Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory Group

Nick Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, who the members are of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory Group.

Nick Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the (a) application process and (b) appointment criteria is for members of National Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory Group.

Nick Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how a person can contact the National Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory Group.

Maria Caulfield: Membership of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory Group (NSPSAG) is arranged by direct appointment and reviewed regularly to ensure that it continues to reflect the strategic direction and priorities of the national suicide prevention strategy for England and subsequent progress reports. Final decisions on membership rests with the Department and the Chair of NSPSAG, Professor Sir Louis Appleby. We will also be considering NSPSAG membership as we develop our new suicide prevention strategy. NSPSAG membership is made up of a wide range of experts, including those with lived experience, academics, the voluntary sector, public health and the National Health Service. Member organisations are: Association of Directors of Public Health; British Transport Police; Coroners’ Society of England and Wales; Harmless; Health Education England; If U Care Share; James' Place; Local Government Association; Mental Health Foundation; Mental Health Innovations; Ministry of Justice; Multicentre Study of Self-Harm in England; National Suicide Prevention Alliance; NHS England; Office for National Statistics; Papyrus; Royal College of General Practitioners; Royal College of Nursing; Royal College of Psychiatrists; Samaritans; Shout; The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities; Young Minds; and Zero Suicide Alliance. Queries about the NSPSAG should be sent to the Department, which provides the secretariat function for the NSPSAG.

Health Services: Children and Young People

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that the Major Health Conditions Strategy will take into account the (a) views and (b) specific needs of children and young people who responded to the Mental Health and Wellbeing Plan.

Maria Caulfield: We received over 5,000 submissions to our mental health and wellbeing call for evidence. We appreciate the engagement work many stakeholders carried out with children, young people and adults with lived experience, and more broadly, to inform their responses to the call for evidence. We have analysed these responses, and we will consider them as part of the process for developing the Major Conditions Strategy.

Mental Health Services: Further Education and Schools

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to provide additional funding for schools and colleges to set up Mental Health Support Teams.

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to require all schools and colleges to have Mental Health Support Teams; and what steps he is taking to increase access to accredited counsellors though Mental Health Support Teams.

Maria Caulfield: Mental health support teams are commissioned by integrated care boards as part of the National Health Service mental health service offer which, through the NHS Long Term Plan, is receiving an additional £2.3 billion investment a year by 2023/24. On top of this, the Government provided an additional £79 million in 2021/22 to expand children and young people’s mental health services, which included a faster increase in the coverage of mental health support teams.Mental health support teams now cover 26% of pupils, a year earlier than originally proposed in the Transforming Children and young People’s Mental Health Provision Green Paper. This will increase to 399 teams, covering around 35% of pupils by April 2023, with over 500 planned to be up and running by 2024. Details on the rollout of further mental health support teams are being developed and will be confirmed in due course.On average, each mental health support team will work with around 8,000 children across 10-20 schools and colleges. All schools involved will have a mental health lead. Each mental health support team is made up of a number of education mental health practitioners and senior clinicians or higher-level therapists as well as a team manager and some admin support. The teams act as a link with local NHS children and young people’s mental health services.

Counselling: Foreign Nationals

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of potential security risk for Hong Kong nationals who access counselling services in the UK in Cantonese.

Maria Caulfield: We have not made such an assessment. The Home Office continually assesses potential threats in the United Kingdom, and takes protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety in the UK very seriously. As you would expect, Home Office officials work closely with other government departments in ensuring that the UK is a safe and welcoming place for those who hold British National (Overseas) status and other Hongkongers.

Health Services: Females

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has for publishing new content on women’s health on the NHS website.

Maria Caulfield: The minister has written to Parliamentarians to confirm that in the first-year implementation of the Women’s Health Strategy we will create a women’s health area on the National Health Service website.

Health Services: Females

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans for all Integrated Care Systems to have a women’s health hub.

Maria Caulfield: We have committed to supporting the expansion of women’s health hubs and are working with partners in the health system to co-produce resources that will support integrated care systems (ICSs) to develop these services. Our expectation is that every ICS will need at least one women’s health hub to provide the level of integrated care that we set out in the Women’s Health Strategy.

Health Services: Females

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 25 October 2022 to Question 60148 on Health and Social Care, whether officials in his Department have had discussions with NHS digital since transforming women’s health content on the NHS website.

Maria Caulfield: Officials in the Department have had discussions and are working closely with NHS Digital to transform women’s health content on the National Health Service website.

Infectious Diseases: Disease Control

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the transmission of airborne pathogens in enclosed public spaces.

Maria Caulfield: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) produced guidance on reducing the transmission of respiratory infections. The UKHSA guidance is supported by the best available scientific evidence and advice from academics and professional experts. Guidance produced by UKHSA is regularly reviewed and updated, where needed, with the latest evidence available.

Health Services: Females

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the best practice resource produced by the Women’s Health Ambassador and other stakeholders on Integrated Care System’s creating women’s health hubs will be available.

Maria Caulfield: The Department is working with the Women’s Health Ambassador and a range of other partners in the health system to publish co-produced resources by summer 2023 to support integrated care systems in their development of Women’s Health Hubs.

Long Covid: Key Workers

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a (a) compensation, (b) settlement and (c) pension scheme for key workers seriously impacted by long COVID as a result of their work.

Maria Caulfield: The Department has not made an assessment.The Department continues to work with the Department for Work and Pensions and as more evidence about the disease emerges, will consider the Government’s provisions and approach for those key workers experiencing the long-term effects of COVID-19.

Care Homes and Hospitals: Visits

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to take steps to give (a) care home residents and (b) hospital patients the right to have visitors.

Helen Whately: The Government encourages every provider to ensure visits can take place, recognising the crucial role of visiting in the wellbeing and care of people in hospitals and care settings. National guidance states that every care home resident should be able to have at least one visitor in all circumstances. We are working to review a range of options to strengthen guidance around visiting for people in care homes and avoid instances where they are unable to receive visitors. Hospital visiting policy is subject to local decision by trusts.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding was allocated to an advertising campaign promoting the covid-19 vaccination programme for 2023.

Maria Caulfield: Campaign funding for promoting the COVID-19 vaccination programme in 2023 has not yet been confirmed.

Long Covid: Research

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has taken recent steps to further research into (a) the nature of long covid and (b) the impact of long covid on people’s health.

Maria Caulfield: Over £50 million has already been invested in long COVID research projects to improve our understanding of the diagnosis, underlying mechanisms of the disease and the effectiveness of both pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies and interventions, as well as to evaluate clinical care.The National Institute for Health and Care Research and UK Research and Innovation’s Medical Research Council continue to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including long COVID. It is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the topic’s importance to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence will continue to monitor the emergence of new evidence around the treatment of long COVID and update guidance to reflect this.

Diabetes: Health Services

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to tackle (a) a potential rise in the number of people who have type 2 diabetes and (b) its potential impact on the NHS.

Helen Whately: NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme (NHS DPP) was introduced in 2016 as part of a wider public health programme to prevent disease. The NHS DPP supports people at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes to achieve a healthy weight, improve nutrition and increase physical activity. Over 1.2 million people have been referred to the programme.

Medical Equipment: Energy

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to provide support with rising energy costs to people living with health conditions that require treatment at home.

Helen Whately: The Government’s cost of living support package delivers £15 billion worth of support measures to assist the most vulnerable with rising energy bills, including charges incurred by patients dependent on medical equipment and devices as part of their home care. In addition, certain specialised NHS England services, such as home Haemodialysis, do include the provision of financial support to offset energy costs sustained from running medical equipment at home. Home Oxygen Suppliers also reimburse cost of electricity required to run oxygen concentrator devices in homes, and this cost is passed onto integrated care boards as part of contractual arrangements. Reimbursements are currently in line with regional averages. The above arrangements however are unique to the contracts or service specifications of these conditions.

General Practitioners: Standards

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients were seen within 14 days of requesting an appointment at (a) Abbey Medical Centre, (b) Aurora Medcare, (c) Barking Medical Group Practice, (d) Dr R Chibber's Practice, (e) Faircross Health Centre, (f) Five Elms Medical Practice, (g) Gables Surgery, (h)	Hedgemans Surgery, (i) Highgrove Surgery, (j) John Smith Medical Centre, (k) Julia Engwell Health Centre, (l) Ripple Road Medical Centre, (m)	Shifa Medical Practice, (n) St Albans Surgery, (o) The White House, (p) Urswick Medical Centre, (q) Victoria Medical Centre, (r) Barking Group Practice, (s) Salisbury Avenue Healthcare, (t) Porters Avenue Surgery and Child and Family Surgery, (u) Tulasi Medical Centre, (v) The Longbridge Practice, (w) Church Elm Lane Medical Practice, (x) Parkview Medical Centre, (y) Broad Street Medical Centre, (z) Heathway Medical Centre, (aa) Dr M Fateh's Surgery, (bb) The Oval Practice, (cc) Dewey Practice, (dd) Halbutt Street Surgery, (ee) Drs K Alkaisy and F Islam Associates, (ff) Laburnum Health Centre, (gg) Green Lane Surgery,  (hh) Becontree Medical Centre and (ii) Valence Medical Centre in the (i) 2018-19, (ii) 2019-20, (iii) 2020-21 and (iv) 2021-22 financial year.

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients were seen within 28 days after requesting an appointment at (a) Abbey Medical Centre, (b) Aurora Medcare, (c) Barking Medical Group Practice, (d) Dr R Chibber's Practice, (e) Faircross Health Centre, (f) Five Elms Medical Practice, (g) Gables Surgery, (h) Hedgemans Surgery, (i) Highgrove Surgery, (j) John Smith Medical Centre, (k) Julia Engwell Health Centre, (l) Ripple Road Medical Centre, (m) Shifa Medical Practice, (n) St Albans Surgery, (o) The White House, (p) Urswick Medical Centre, (q) Victoria Medical Centre, (r) Barking Group Practice, (s) Salisbury Avenue Healthcare, (t) Porters Avenue Surgery and Child and Family Surgery, (u) Tulasi Medical Centre, (v) The Longbridge Practice, (w)	Church Elm Lane Medical Practice, (x) Parkview Medical Centre, (y) Broad Street Medical Centre, (z) Heathway Medical Centre, (aa) Dr M Fateh's Surgery, (bb) The Oval Practice, (cc) Dewey Practice, (dd) Halbutt Street Surgery, (ee) Drs K Alkaisy and F Islam Associates, (ff) Laburnum Health Centre, (gg) Green Lane Surgery, (hh) Becontree Medical Centre and (ii) Valence Medical Centre in the (i) 2018-19, (ii) 2019-20, (iii) 2020-21 and (iv) 2021-22 financial year.

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what poportion of patients were seen with a face-to-face appointment at (a) Abbey Medical Centre, (b)	Aurora Medcare, (c) Barking Medical Group Practice, (d) Dr R Chibber's Practice, (e)	Faircross Health Centre, (f) Five Elms Medical Practice, (g) Gables Surgery, (h) Hedgemans Surgery, (i) Highgrove Surgery, (j) John Smith Medical Centre, (k) Julia Engwell Health Centre, (l) Ripple Road Medical Centre, (m) Shifa Medical Practice, (n) St Albans Surgery, (o) The White House, (p) Urswick Medical Centre, (q) Victoria Medical Centre, (r)  Barking Group Practice, (s)	Salisbury Avenue Healthcare, (t) Porters Avenue Surgery and Child and Family Surgery, (u) Tulasi Medical Centre, (v) The Longbridge Practice, (w) Church Elm Lane Medical Practice, (x) Parkview Medical Centre, (y) Broad Street Medical Centre, (z) Heathway Medical Centre, (aa) Dr M Fateh's Surgery, (bb) The Oval Practice, (cc) Dewey Practice, (dd) Halbutt Street Surgery, (ee) Drs K Alkaisy and F Islam Associates, (ff) Laburnum Health Centre, (gg) Green Lane Surgery, (hh)	Becontree Medical Centre and (ii)	Valence Medical Centre in the (i) 2018-19, (ii) 2019-20, (iii) 2020-21 and (iv) 2021-22 financial year.

Neil O'Brien: This data is not held in the format requested.

Department for Work and Pensions

Personal Independence Payment: Mental Illness

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how access needs for people with mental health needs are met when making claims for Personal Independence Payments.

Tom Pursglove: Many claimants who make a claim to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) may have a mental health condition. PIP claimants with a severe mental health or behavioural condition, learning disability, developmental disorder or cognitive impairment, who may have difficulty engaging with the claims process, and with no support network in place, can be provided with additional support during the claims process if they need it. This support can include help filling in the claim form or the claimant questionnaire, and additional protections for failing to return the questionnaire, or for failing to attend a face-to-face assessment. If the claimant requests it, we can involve a third-party representative and engage with them at every stage, including the health assessment. GOV.UK also contains links to Easy Read guides to PIP (Easy read: Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and videos (Understanding PIP - YouTube) which help explain each of the elements of the PIP claims process for those who may find it difficult to understand. We also ensure all staff in customer-facing roles undertake mandatory mental health awareness training to equip them with the knowledge and skills to be able to support claimants with mental health conditions.

Disability

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the letter from the Minister for Social Care to the hon. member for Ellesmere Port and Neston of 21 December 2022, what the outcome of the meeting with disabled people on policy development in summer 2022 was; and what plans he has for further such engagement.

Tom Pursglove: In Summer 2022, a number of meetings and focus groups with disabled people, and disabled people’s organisations, took place to hear disabled people's experiences in relation to the rising cost of living. Officials continue to engage with stakeholders to build this evidence base on how the cost of living is impacting disabled people. On 1 December 2022, we announced that a new Disability Action Plan will be consulted on and published in 2023. The plan will set out the action the Government will take in 2023 and 2024 to improve disabled people’s lives. Ensuring the voice of disabled people is properly heard is a priority for this Government. We will run a full public consultation on the plan later in 2023. The consultation will be accessible to ensure all disabled people who want to take part, can do so.

Personal Independence Payment

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of Personal Independence Payment recipients who were given an ongoing award and have had their claims reassessed since 2020.

Tom Pursglove: As of October 2022, the number of current Personal Independence Payment (PIP) recipients, who received an ongoing award at their initial clearance, is 542,880. The number of these recipients who have had their claims reassessed since 2020 is 16,010, which is 3% of the total. In this figure, a reassessment is defined as either a planned award review or a claimant-initiated change of circumstances. Source: PIP Atomic Data Store (ADS)Notes:This is unpublished data. It should be used with caution and it may be subject to future revision;Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10; andFigures include England and Wales only.

Personal Independence Payment

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of Personal Independent Payment appeals resulted in a decision that the claimant should receive an ongoing award in each of the last two years.

Tom Pursglove: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Employment and Support Allowance

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all claimants are made aware of permitted work and the PW1 form.

Tom Pursglove: The Employment and Support Allowance permitted work rules strike a balance between encouraging claimants to build their confidence, undertake some part-time paid work, and plan a gradual move to sustained employment, while continuing to receive benefits; and, on the other hand, providing the incentive to move off benefits entirely and into full-time work. People can find information about permitted work and the PW1 form on GOV.UK, or by talking to their Work Coach. If GOV.UK is not an option, Work Coaches can issue a PW1 form and a guidance leaflet (DWPFO1) to the claimant.

Personal Independence Payment

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of Personal Independent Payment (PIP) claimants have a degenerative disease and have been awarded the highest rate of both PIP components.

Tom Pursglove: Information on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants with degenerative conditions is not available. While the department holds data on a range of conditions, these are not collected centrally in a way that defines them as degenerative or not. Detailed statistics on PIP can be found on Stat-Xplore. In particular, the dataset on PIP clearances lists the disability categories recorded on PIP, as well as the award level for both components at initial decision. Over 500 conditions are covered, but none are grouped or marked in any way as being degenerative. You can also view the disability categories here. Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here. An account is not required to use Stat- Xplore, the ‘Guest Login’ feature gives instant access to the main functions.

Local Housing Allowance: Homelessness

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of freezing Local Housing Allowance on homelessness.

Mims Davies: The causes of homelessness are multi-faceted and often complex, they interact dynamically making it difficult to isolate the relative importance of individual factors. Government is committed to preventing homelessness where possible. We have announced the allocation of £654 million in funding through the Homelessness Prevention Grant that will be made available to local authorities in 2023/24 and 2024/25. This is in addition to the £50m top-up to the Homelessness Prevention Grant for 2022/23 announced in December, which will support local authorities to help prevent vulnerable households from becoming homeless this winter. This investment builds on the £316 million in funding already available to local authorities through the Homelessness Prevention Grant for 2022/23. In 2020 Local Housing Allowance rates were raised to the 30th percentile, a significant investment of almost £1 billion, we have maintained the increase since then so that everyone who benefited from the increase continues to do so. Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available for those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. Since 2011 we have provided nearly £1.6 billion in funding to local authorities for DHPs.

Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of retaining the Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996 following the passage of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill; and whether his Department has held recent discussions with industry stakeholders on the potential impact of not retaining those regulations.

Mims Davies: The Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996 require employers to consult employees on health and safety matters that might affect them, either directly or via representatives elected by employees. With the introduction of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) remains focused on ensuring that regulatory frameworks maintain the United Kingdom’s high standards of health and safety protection and continue to reduce burdens for business. HSE’s approach aligns closely with the Government’s pledge to do more for business to help promote growth by removing disproportionate burdens and simplifying the regulatory landscape. Our standards of health and safety protections are among the highest in the world. HSE will continue to review its retained EU Law to seek opportunities to reduce business burdens and promote growth without reducing health and safety standards. Stakeholders and industry sectors will continue to be consulted fully on how health, safety and welfare legislation may develop in the future.

Children: Maintenance

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the covid-19 outbreak on the ability of the Child Maintenance Service to carry out enforcement activity with non-compliant parents.

Mims Davies: During COVID-19 pandemic the CMS ability to recover arrears via enforcement activity was affected as Enforcement Agents and the Courts were operating at a reduced capacity. Temporary changes were made to the Child Maintenance Service to ensure it could continue to deliver its priorities supporting separated parents.The CMS worked with His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service to establish alternatives to face to face court hearings by setting up video / phone hearings where outcomes were received digitally.The CMS has now reinstated a full service and is committed to making sure that over time everyone pays or receives the right amount of child maintenance. In 2021-22 we made more referrals to enforcement agents than in any other year and the number of liability orders applied for each year is back to pre-pandemic levels.

State Retirement Pensions

Richard Foord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people who will not meet the 35 qualifying years in order to receive the full new State Pension due to prolonged periods of low-income work.

Laura Trott: The Government has made no such assessment.The Government has ensured that people with earnings below the Primary Threshold continue to have their entitlement to State Pension protected. Although the Primary Threshold, when people start making National Insurance Contributions, has increased from £190 to £242 per week in 2022/23, the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) remains at £123 per week in 2022/23 (£6396 per annum). The LEL is the level of earnings above which people are treated as having paid National Insurance, even though they have not paid Contributions.People with earnings from a single employer above the LEL, receive a Qualifying Year of National Insurance, which counts towards their State Pension eligibility. For people on low incomes, there is a wide range of National Insurance credits available, including people in receipt of Universal Credit, ensuring they can achieve the best possible State Pension outcome when they reach State Pension age. Information about these can be found on www.gov.uk/national-insurance-credits/eligibility.

State Retirement Pensions

Richard Foord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure low-paid workers do not miss out on receiving the full new State Pension due to zero rate National insurance Contributions.

Laura Trott: The Government have ensured that people with earnings below the Primary Threshold continue to have their entitlement to State Pension protected. Although the Primary Threshold, when people start making National Insurance Contributions, has increased from £190 to £242 per week in 2022/23, the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) remains at £123 per week in 2022/23 (£6396 per annum). The LEL is the level of earnings above which people are treated as having paid National Insurance, even though they have not paid Contributions.People with earnings from a single employer above the LEL, receive a Qualifying Year of National Insurance, which counts towards their State Pension eligibility. For people on low incomes, there is a wide range of National Insurance credits available, including people in receipt of Universal Credit, ensuring they can achieve the best possible State Pension outcome when they reach State Pension age. Information about these can be found on www.gov.uk/national-insurance-credits/eligibility.

Universal Credit: Young People

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of people aged 18 to 25 claim Universal Credit.

Guy Opperman: Statistics on the number of people in receipt of Universal Credit are published every month. The latest statistics are available by age, to December 2022, on Stat-Xplore.

Universal Credit: Young People

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of care-experienced people aged 18 to 25 claim Universal Credit.

Guy Opperman: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Older Workers: Early Retirement

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to Answer of 19 January 2023 to Question 120945 on Older Workers: Early Retirement, what forecasts his Department has commissioned of the number of older workers who may retire early in future cohorts.

Guy Opperman: The Department has not commissioned forecasts of the number of future early retirees.

Offshore Industry: Missing People

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February to Question 135414 on Offshore Industry: Missing People, what guidance his Department provides on whether (a) workers on Offshore Wind Installations and (b) ships and machinery servicing them are covered by the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (Application Outside Great Britain) Order 2013.

Mims Davies: Guidance on the application of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (Application outside Great Britain) Order 2013 is published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on its website. HSE also publishes an Offshore Information Sheet No 1/2013 relating to the application of health and safety law offshore.The guidance outlines that the 1974 Act applies to any energy structure or activities connected with, or preparatory to, the exploitation of those structures for the production of energy from wind. The provisions also apply to exploration activities with a view to producing energy from wind and the operation of a cable for transmitting electricity from an energy structure.The definition of an energy structure includes structure or machine. Ships are not defined as energy structures for the purposes of this legislation.

Offshore Industry: Missing People

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to Answer of 2 February to Question 135414 on Offshore Industry: Missing People, what (a) sites and (b) installations are covered by the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (Application outside Great Britain) Order 2013.

Mims Davies: The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (Application outside Great Britain) Order 2013 applies to sites within the territorial sea and designated areas. The types of sites and installations covered by the 2013 Order in either the territorial sea or a designated area are: offshore installations; wells; pipelines; mines; those used for gas importation and storage; energy structures for the production of energy from water or wind; and underground coal gasification as defined in the Order. The Territorial Sea Act 1987 defines the territorial sea as “A belt of sea over which the UK exercises sovereign jurisdiction. It is adjacent to, and measured from, the UK coastline to a maximum width of 12 nautical miles”. A designated area is one which has been designated by order under Section 1(7) of the Continental Shelf Act 1964.

Pension Protection Fund

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to enable the Pension Protection Fund to provide inflation protection for pensionable service prior to 6 April 1997 for pensions in the schemes within its remit.

Laura Trott: While all legislation is kept under review as a matter of course, there are currently no plans to review the PPF indexation rules, or indeed the wider legislation to which they relate. The Secretary of State has therefore made no such assessment and does not intend to do so at this time.

Pension Protection Fund

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to enable the Pension Protection Fund to provide inflation protection for the Guaranteed Minimum Pension element of pensions in the schemes within its remit.

Laura Trott: While all legislation is kept under review as a matter of course, there are currently no plans to review the Pension Protection Fund legislation in relation to inflation protection on Guaranteed Minimum Pensions. The Secretary of State therefore does not intend to make such an assessment at this time.

Pension Protection Fund

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in the context of recent increases in inflation, what recent assessment he has made of the impact on the value of pensions received by members of the Pension Protection Fund of the provisions of the Pensions Act 2005 on the non-indexation of defined benefits pension rights accrued prior to 6 April 2007.

Laura Trott: While all legislation is kept under review as a matter of course, there are currently no plans to review legislation relating to the indexation of payments from the Pension Protection Fund and the Secretary of State has made no such assessment at this time.

Pension Protection Fund

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in the context of proposed reductions in levies charged by the Pension Protection Fund, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of maintaining levies and allocating any surplus to provide inflation protection to defined benefits pension rights accrued prior to 6 April 2007.

Laura Trott: Operational decisions about the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) levy are a matter for the Board of the PPF. The Secretary of State has made no assessment of potential merits to maintain the levies raised by the PPF, and re-allocating any surplus to provide inflation protection.

Cold Weather Payments: South Wales

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing how postcodes are allocated to weather stations for the purpose of determining the temperature for cold weather payments.

Laura Trott: The Met Office review the Cold Weather Payment scheme each year to assess whether the linkages between postcode areas and weather stations remain the best available. The Met Office will be conducting their next review this summer once the current Cold Weather Payment season has ended.

State Retirement Pensions

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many personal state pension statements were provided between April and September 2000.

Laura Trott: DWP issued 593,900 State Pension Statements (also known as forecasts) in the financial year April 2000 to March 2001. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/state-pension-statements-issued-apr-2014-to-apr-2016

Pensions: Portsmouth South

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the number of employees in Portsmouth South constituency who are (a) leaving pension schemes or (b) reducing pension contributions due to the rising cost of living; and what plans he has to mitigate those outcomes.

Laura Trott: The government continues to closely monitor the cost-of-living pressures on workplace pension participation. The data requested for the number of employees in the Portsmouth South constituency who are either (a) leaving pensions schemes or (b) reducing pension contributions is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs. The most recent data shows that the proportion of pension savers who actively cease saving each month is below 1%. The department makes regular publications of the data that is held, including the Workplace Pension Participation and Savings Trends available and Ten Years of Automatic Enrolment in Workplace Pensions analysis and statistics, which are available on GOV.UK. The role of Automatic Enrolment on workplace pension participation rates has been transformative, with 86% of eligible private sector employees saving into a workplace pension in 2021, up from 42% in 2012.

Attendance Allowance

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who are eligible for attendance allowance are not claiming that benefit.

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure those eligible for attendance allowance are receiving it.

Laura Trott: The department does not hold information on the number of people eligible for Attendance Allowance and not claiming, as it is not possible to accurately estimate what care needs will arise from an illness or disability in each individual. Information on the availability of Attendance Allowance is already widely available, including online on GOV.UK; from places such as Libraries and Doctors Surgeries; directly from Health Care Professionals who might be supporting those with care needs; and from a range of groups and charities who provide advice and support to elderly people with care needs. DWP continually seeks to improve the information it makes available so as to encourage people to claim Attendance Allowance where they may be entitled.

Pensioners: Portsmouth South

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to offer support to pensioners in Portsmouth South constituency who are in poverty and (a) disabled, (b) single women, and (c) over 85.

Laura Trott: The Secretary of State announced on 17 November that State Pensions and benefits will be up-rated from April 2023 by 10.1%, in line with the increase in the Consumer Prices Index in the year to September 2022, subject to parliamentary approval. The State Pension is the foundation of support for older people, providing the basis on which people can build additional private savings for their retirement. Under this Government, the full yearly amount of the basic State Pension is now over £2,300 higher than in 2010. From April 2023, this will rise to over £3,000. There are currently around 1.4m pensioners claiming some £5bn of Pension Credit, which tops up their retirement income providing invaluable financial support for the poorest pensioners, and which is a passport to a range of other benefits. The Pension Credit Standard Minimum Guarantee (SMG) will be increase by 10.1%, subject to parliamentary approval, reflecting the Government’s commitment to protecting the most vulnerable pensioners at this time of high inflation. For single pensioners, the SMG will increase to £201.05 a week; for couples it will increase to £306.85 a week. Attendance Allowance is intended to help those with a severe disability who have long term care or supervision needs where those needs arise after reaching State Pension age. Entitlement to Attendance Allowance is based on the on-going need for frequent personal care and attention, or supervision to ensure personal safety, rather than on the individual’s medical condition. Those getting the higher rate are receiving around £4800 a year, tax free, which can be paid in addition to other support a pensioner may receive such as the State Pension and Pension Credit. The government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living, which is why, in addition to the £37 billion of support we have provided for cost of living pressures in 2022/23, we are acting now to ensure support continues throughout 2023/24. The 1.4 million pensioner households currently in receipt of Pension Credit may receive the Cost of Living Payment for those on income-related benefits totalling up to £900 in the 2023/24 financial year. In addition, eight million pensioner households will receive a £300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment, and pensioners in receipt of an eligible disability benefit will receive the £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment. Specific statistics relating to the Pensioner Cost of Living Payments are not available. However, the latest available winter fuel payment statistics (2021/22) show that 12,864 customers in Portsmouth South received a winter fuel payment. We expect a similar number of customers will receive the Pensioner Cost of Living Payments in 2022/23 and 2023/24.

Cold Weather Payments: South Wales

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cold weather payments have been issued in the SA13 postcode in each since 2019.

Laura Trott: The Cold Weather Payment scheme is administered at weather station level rather than any other standard GB geography such as postcode or constituency level. The coverage area for each weather station is determined by the Met Office which assesses the most appropriate weather station for each postcode area. Cold weather payments are triggered when the average temperature recorded at the weather station has been recorded as, or is forecast to be, 0oC or below over seven consecutive days, during the Cold Weather season (November to March). The Postcode SA13 falls under the weather station St. Athan. St. Athan also covers the following postcode areas, in Table 1, which include postcodes other than SA13. Table 1 Postcode districts mapped to Weather StationsWeather stationPostcode Districts CoveredSt. AthanCF3, CF5, CF10-11, CF14-15, CF23-24, CF31-36, CF61-64, CF71-72, NP10, NP18-20, SA10-13. Qualifying individuals living in these postcode districts will have received a payment in respect of a seven- day period of Cold Weather. From 2019/20 up to the current season, 2022/23, there have been 0 Cold Weather Payment triggers for St. Athan weather station. Thus, 0 payments have been made to postcodes within St. Athan weather station since 2019, as outlined in Table 2. Table 2 Number of payments made to postcodes covering St. Athan weather station2019/202020/212021/222022/23 Number of Payments made0000

Pension Credit: Portsmouth South

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the proportional uptake of Pension Credit in Portsmouth South constituency; and what steps he is taking to help ensure that Pension Credit is paid to all people entitled to it.

Laura Trott: The latest available Pension Credit take-up statistics cover the financial year 2019 to 2020 and can be found at Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up. These statistics are only available at Great Britain level and cannot be broken down to smaller geographical areas.Pension Credit provides vital financial support to pensioners on a low income. In Portsmouth South some 2,400 pensioners already receive Pension Credit, but we want all those who are eligible to claim it. That’s why the Department launched a £1.2m nationwide communications campaign in April to raise awareness of Pension Credit and increase take-up.We undertook a further burst of communications activity in December which included press, radio and social media. This highlighted that successful Pension Credit applications made by 18 December would mean qualification for a £324 Cost of Living Payment – thanks to Pension Credit backdating rules. To promote this activity, I held an event at Portcullis House on 7 December. Around 40 MPs attended to show their support and help promote the message in their constituencies. Internal management information shows that during the week commencing 12 December, DWP received over 7,200 claims. This is 177% higher compared to the same week the year before. Since the beginning of the Pension Credit awareness campaign in April 2022, weekly Pension Credit claims volumes increased by an average of 73% compared to the year average before the campaign began (April 2021 to March 2022). We are planning to spend £1.8m on further communications activities up to the end of the financial year, including TV advertising, radio and print advertising – which will emphasise the help that receipt of Pension Credit can bring, such as qualifying for this year’s Cost of Living payments. We are also writing to over 11 million pensioners to notify them of the up-rating of their State Pensions. As last year, a leaflet accompanying the notification includes information promoting Pension Credit. This has been updated to include a more prominent ‘call to action’ using the Pension Credit campaign messaging to encourage eligible pensioners to make a claim.

Home Office

Road Traffic Offences: Driving Licences and Insurance

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many occasions in (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21 and (c) 2021-22 did the police in England and Wales respond to incidents where serious injuries had been caused by uninsured or unlicensed drivers; and on how many of those occasions were the incidents recorded as crimes.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many occasions in (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21 and (c) 2021-22 did the police in England and Wales respond to incidents where deaths had been caused by uninsured or unlicensed drivers; and on how many of those occasions were the incidents recorded as crimes.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people in England and Wales were charged in (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21 and (c) 2021-22 with (i) using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks, (ii) driving or causing or permitting another person to drive other than in accordance with licence and (iii) causing death by driving whilst uninsured or unlicensed.

Chris Philp: The Home Office does not hold information on the number of occasions police responded to incidents of death or serious injury caused by uninsured or unlicensed drivers.The Home Office collects information on the number of ‘Causing serious injury/death by driving - unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured drivers’ offences recorded by the police in England and Wales, and their investigative outcomes including charges. This information, for 2019/20 to 2021/22, is available in the table below:Number of ‘Causing death by driving - unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured drivers’’ offences and charges, 2019/20 to 2021/22YearNumber of offencesNumber of charges recorded in the period2019/20522020/21872021/2255The Home Office does not hold information on ‘using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks’ or ‘driving or causing or permitting another person to drive other than in accordance with licence’ offences, as these are non-notifiable offences.

Asylum: Hotels

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many hotels are currently being used as temporary accommodation for asylum seekers; and if she will provide a breakdown by local authority.

Robert Jenrick: As of 01/09/2022 (to align with the date of the latest Published Stats):There were 265 Contingency Hotel sites in use for temporary accommodation. Please find below breakdown by LA:Local AuthorityCount of HotelAberdeen1Antrim and Newtownabbey1Ards and North Down1Ards and North Down Borough1Babergh1Barnet4Barrow-in-Furness2Basingstoke and Deane1Bedfordshire1Belfast City13Birmingham5Blackpool1Boston1Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole4Bradford5Brent3Brighton and Hove1Bristol, City of1Calderdale3Camden4Cannock Chase1Cardiff2Carlisle1Charnwood2Cherwell1Cheshire1Cheshire East3Chesterfield1Copeland1Coventry3Crawley3Croydon2Dacorum2Derby2Derry City and Strabane1Doncaster2Ealing4East Lindsey3East Riding1Eastbourne2Edinburgh1Falkirk1Folkestone and Hythe1Gateshead1Glasgow1Gloucester2Greenwich3Guildford1Hackney3Halton1Hammersmith and Fulham2Haringey1Harrow2Havering1Hertsmere1Hillingdon6Hounslow7Huntingdonshire1Inverclyde1Islington2Kensington and Chelsea6Kingston upon Hull, City of2Kingston upon Thames1Kirklees5Knowsley1Lambeth3Lancaster2Leeds4Leicester2Lewisham1Liverpool4Luton2Manchester1Merton1Mid and East Antrim1Mid Sussex1Milton Keynes1Mole Valley1Newcastle upon Tyne4Newham3North Somerset1North West Leicestershire1Norwich1Nottingham2Oldham1Perth and Kinross1Portsmouth1Reading2Redbridge5Reigate and Banstead2Renfrewshire1Rochdale2Rochford2Rotherham2Rugby2Rushcliffe1Rushmoor1Sandwell1Scarborough1Selby1Sheffield3Slough1Slough1Solihull1South Derbyshire1South Gloucestershire1South Lanarkshire1South Ribble1Southampton1Southwark4Spelthorne1St Albans1St Helens1St. Helens1Stockport1Stockton-on-Tees1Sunderland1Surrey Heath1Swindon2Test Valley1Tewkesbury1TOTAL HOTELS1Tower Hamlets3Uttlesford1Wakefield1Waltham Forest2Warrington1Warwick1Welwyn Hatfield1West Berkshire2West Northamptonshire1Westminster5Wigan1Windsor and Maidenhead1Wirral1Wokingham1Wolverhampton2Worcester1Wychavon2Wyre Forest2Grand Total265

Home Office: Vehicles

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) fossil fuel-, (b) electric- and (c) hybrid-powered road-legal vehicles their Department purchased in the last 24 months.

Chris Philp: This information is not centrally held at the Home Office therefore the information requested could not be obtained without disproportionate cost

Asylum: Greater London

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to close any London hotels housing refugees from Afghanistan.

Robert Jenrick: While hotels do not provide a long-term solution, they do offer safe, secure and clean accommodation. We will continue to bring down the number of people in bridging hotels, moving people into more sustainable accommodation as quickly as possible so they can put down permanent roots. To deliver value for money to the taxpayer, officials are working at pace to consolidate the number of bridging hotels being used, by maximising capacity in hotels which have available rooms and returning rooms back to hotels that are not being used or do not match family requirements. Part of this work means families can, sometimes, be moved from a hotel scheduled for closure to another hotel. In these instances, families are given appropriate notice of a move and are supported by their Home Office Liaison Officer and Local Authority every step of the way. We are working intensely across government to find permanent accommodation for these families.

Asylum: Staff

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum caseworkers her Department currently employ, broken down by number of years served.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office currently employs 1,375 asylum caseworkers in total, as of January 2023.We do not have an exact breakdown of asylum caseworkers currently employed by the Home Office, in term of number of years served.We have implemented a recruitment and retention allowance which has reduced Decision Maker attrition rates by 30%, helping us maintain experienced asylum Decision Makers.

Independent Office for Police Conduct: Welsh Government

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she last discussed the work of the Independent Office for Police Conduct with the Welsh Government.

Chris Philp: Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with counterparts in the Welsh Government on various relevant issues. The IOPC’s effectiveness will be reviewed this year and the Welsh Government will be given an opportunity to input.

Embassies: China

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has put in place any measures to protect protestors at the Chinese Consulate in Manchester.

Chris Philp: Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights set out that everyone has the right to freedom of expression, assembly and association. This government will support these rights, including the right of individuals to engage in peaceful protest.It is a long-standing tradition in this country that people are free to gather together and to demonstrate their views, provided that they do so within the law.The management of demonstrations is an operational matter for the police. In certain circumstances, the police have a duty to take reasonable steps to protect those who want to exercise their rights peacefully.

Asylum

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has made on its July 2019 objective of ensuring that the proportion of supported asylum seekers housed in each government region reflects each region’s share of the UK population by 2029.

Robert Jenrick: The former Minister for safe and Legal Routes announced a move to full dispersal on 13 April 2022. The new system of full dispersal accommodation allows the Home Office to move from using hotels to less expensive and more suitable dispersed accommodation. To support full dispersal, delivery plans have been developed in partnership with local government across all UK regions. Plans were designed to ensure a more equitable spread of dispersed accommodation across the UK. Regional Governance Boards will monitor performance against plans.

Hillsborough Independent Panel

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for its policies of the recent announcement by the National Police Chiefs Council and the College of Policing regarding the findings of The Report of the Hillsborough Independent Panel.

Chris Philp: The National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing are independent of Government and independently published their response to Bishop James Jones’ report on the experiences of the Hillsborough families on 31 January 2023.Whilst the timing of the Government’s response has been impacted by the need to avoid risk of prejudice during the Hillsborough criminal proceedings, work has been underway within the relevant departments and organisations to carefully consider and address those points of learning directed at the Government.The Government has worked closely with police colleagues to consider and address the points of learning for which responsibility spans both government and policing, to improve the systems that are in place to ensure police officers account for their actions.The Government is committed to engaging with the Hillsborough families prior to publication of its full response in due course.

Police Custody: Children in Care

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of (a) family members, (b) professionals working with children and (c) unknown volunteers who acted as Appropriate Adults for looked after children detained in police custody in each of the last five reporting years.

Chris Philp: The Government published the Concordat on Children in Custody in 2017 which clearly sets out the statutory duties of the police and local authorities and provides a protocol for how transfers of children from custody to local authority accommodation should work in practice. We are clear that children should only be detained in custody when absolutely necessary and where there are opportunities to divert children away from custody, these must be considered.The Government is supporting Local Authorities to meet their statutory duty and to ensure there is sufficient provision in their area through capital investment. The 2021 Spending Review announced £259 million of capital funding to maintain capacity and expand provision in both secure and open children’s homes. This will provide high quality, safe homes for some of our most vulnerable children and young people and create new places and support provision in secure children’s homes in all nine regions of England.The Home Department does not collect data on the type or status of the person who acted as an Appropriate Adult. Our Police Powers and Procedures bulletin found that for children who were detained in police custody, an AA was called in 99% of cases.We part fund the National Association of Appropriate Adults (NAAN), which supports organisations providing appropriate adult services to young people and vulnerable adults in police custody and regularly engage with NAAN to discuss the provision of training to Appropriate Adults across England and Wales. More information can be found at https://www.appropriateadult.org.uk/.

Dogs: Animal Welfare

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases of ear cropping of dogs were (a) reported, (b) investigated and (c) charged in 2022.

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases of tail docking of dogs were (a) reported, (b) investigated and (c) charged in 2022.

Chris Philp: The Home Office collects information on the number of offences of ‘Carrying out, permitting, causing to be carried out or failing to prevent prohibited procedure on a protected animal’ and ‘Removing or causing or permitting or failing to prevent removal of dog’s tail other than for medical Treatment’. and their investigative outcomes, recorded by the police in England and Wales, on a quarterly basis. The latest information is available up to the end of September 2022.This shows that there were 2 offences of ‘Carrying out, permitting, causing to be carried out or failing to prevent prohibited procedure on a protected animal’ offences recorded in the first nine months of 2022. Both of these cases resulted in the investigation being complete with no suspect identified.There have been no offences of ‘Removing or causing or permitting or failing to prevent removal of dog’s tail other than for medical Treatment’ recorded in the first nine months of 2022.

Speed Limits: Fines

Duncan Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2022 to Question 110878 on Speed Limits: Fines, if she will make it her policy to allow people receiving speeding penalty charges related (a) dashboard camera, (b) CCTV and (c) helmet camera footage to review that footage before making the choice about whether to plead guilty or go to court.

Chris Philp: Decisions as to whether an offence may be being committed and the provision of any dashboard, CCTV and helmet camera footage in respect of a potential speeding offence is an operational matter for the police.Before a possible prosecution the police will issue a conditional fixed penalty offer with evidence that can be relied upon at court. It is then a decision for the recipient to decide to accept this offer or to challenge this at court.

Retail Trade: Crimes of Violence

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help ensure that perpetrators of abuse against retail workers are charged.

Chris Philp: The Government is clear that violence and abuse towards any worker is not acceptable. We introduced a statutory aggravating factor for assault against any public facing worker via section 156 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. The aggravating factor applies in cases of assault where an offence is committed against those providing a public service, performing a public duty or providing a service to the public. This legislative change ensures the courts treat the public-facing nature of a victim’s role as an aggravating factor when considering the sentence for an offence.The Home Office continues to work closely with retailers, trade associations and the police through the National Retail Crime Steering Group (NRCSG) to encourage retailers to work with police so that crimes are effectively dealt with at a local level. The NRCSG has produced practical resources to assist retailers to report crimes when they occur. These are available here.Violence and Abuse Against Shop Workers (brc.org.uk)We have published guidance Section 4: Victim Services and Victim Care (brc.org.uk)on the use of Impact Statements for Business which provide victims with the opportunity to tell the police and courts about how the crime has affected them.Charging decisions are a matter for the Crown Prosecution Service.

Embassies: China

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help protect people from Hong Kong who want to protest near the Chinese Embassy and Consulate in the UK.

Chris Philp: Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights set out that everyone has the right to freedom of expression, assembly and association. This government will support these rights, including the right of individuals to engage in peaceful protest.It is a long-standing tradition in this country that people are free to gather together and to demonstrate their views, provided that they do so within the law.The management of demonstrations is an operational matter for the police. In certain circumstances, the police have a duty to take reasonable steps to protect those who want to exercise their rights peacefully.

Road Traffic Offences: Merseyside

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had recent discussions with Merseyside Police on preventing hit-and-run offences.

Chris Philp: The Secretary of State has had no recent discussions with Merseyside Police on preventing hit and run offences. Enforcement of road traffic law is an operational matter for the Chief Constable of Merseyside Police.

Independent Office for Police Conduct: Finance

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding for the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

Chris Philp: The funding for the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) is determined through an annual budget setting process (in line with the rest of Government). The IOPC are allocated funding from the Police Settlement and from core Home Office funding. In-depth consideration takes place for both involving Departmental finance specialists, senior policy and strategy officials and Ministers agreeing, with input from the IOPC, the appropriate budget for them to undertake their role effectively.The financial performance of the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) and any pressures and opportunities are then discussed regularly with Home Office officials, alongside consideration of IOPC performance against its objectives. Decisions are taken at a senior level as to whether any additional funding is required to fulfil the IOPC’s objectives and requirements.The process for funding for 2023/24 is near conclusion. As announced in December, IOPC’s funding from the annual Police settlement will remain level for 2023/24 recognising the importance of ensuring that they are appropriately funded for their work.

Independent Office for Police Conduct: Standards

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

Chris Philp: The Home Secretary has confirmed that there will be formal review of the IOPC’s effectiveness this year, as part of the Cabinet Office’s programme of reviews of Government bodies.Home Office Ministers gave evidence to the recent HASC inquiry on police conduct and complaints, including on the IOPC. The IOPC reports annually to the Home Secretary and performance is monitored through-out the year.

Home Office: Conditions of Employment

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if they will take steps to (a) publish an equality impact assessment and (b) consult with trade unions when proposing new HR policies for their Department; and if they will make a statement.

Chris Philp: The Home Office routinely consults its recognised trade unions when revising existing HR policies or introducing new ones.Where new policies are being developed equality impact assessments are produced.

Travellers: Police

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of policing for the Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities.

Chris Philp: The Government wants to ensure the police have the powers they need to support and serve all communities. We also want to ensure fair and equal treatment for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, in a way that facilitates their traditional and nomadic way of life.We expect police to continue to undertake any enforcement action in compliance with their equality and human rights obligations. Anyone who is dissatisfied with the service they have received from the police is entitled to make a police complaint. Further details are set out in the IOPC's guide to the complaints system available here: https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Documents/Complaint_forms/20220707_A_guide_to_complaint_system_2022.pdf

Drugs: Crime

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is tacking to tackle gangs offering free e-cigarettes to groom vulnerable children into drug dealing.

Chris Philp: The grooming of vulnerable children into drug dealing by any means is deplorable and the Government is determined to tackle it.Through our County Lines Programme, police funded activity has already closed over 2,900 county lines, resulted over 8,000 arrests and over 9,500 individuals engaged through safeguarding interventions. As part of our Programme, we are also funding Catch22 and Missing People’s SafeCall service to provide specialist support to victims of county lines exploitation and their families.More widely, we are also driving targeted action to respond to child exploitation through the Home Office-funded Prevention Programme, delivered by The Children’s Society. This works with a range of national and local partners, including businesses, to identify exploitation trends, such as the use of e-cigarettes, and work collaboratively to prevent exploitation. We are also taking steps to strengthen local approaches through the Department for Education funded Tackling Child Exploitation Support Programme which is developing and embedding practice principles to ensure an effective and consistent multi-agency approach to tackling the exploitation of children.

Police: Standards

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to improve standards in policing.

Chris Philp: It is crucial that the public have trust and confidence in the police and expect them to fight crime, keep us safe and carry out their duties to the highest professional standardsIn the wake of the shocking murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer, the Government established the Angiolini Inquiry. The draft terms of reference for Part 2 were published on 18 January and a formal consultation was launched on 27 January. This part of the Inquiry will include an examination of vetting and recruitment processes to identify those not fit to serve, as well as investigate the extent to which misogyny and predatory behaviour exist in police cultureThe Government has recently asked the College of Policing to strengthen the statutory code of practice for vetting, making the obligations all forces must legally follow stricter and clearerIn addition, on 17 January the Home Secretary launched a review into the process of police officer dismissals, ensuring that the system is fair and effective at removing those officers who are not fit to serve. The Terms of Reference for this review have now been published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-officer-dismissals-review-terms-of-reference

Independent Office for Police Conduct

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she last met representatives of the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

Chris Philp: Ministerial engagement takes place on a regular basis with representatives from the Independent Office of Police Conduct.

Vans: Theft

Jane Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle the theft of tools from vans.

Chris Philp: The Government is working with Combined Industries Theft Solutions (CITS) and the police-led National Business Crime Centre to explore ways to prevent the theft of tools including theft from vans.We are working closely with police and motor manufacturers through the National Vehicle Crime Working Group, chaired by the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vehicle crime, taking forward a programme of work to prevent and reduce theft of and from vehicles, which includes training police officers on methods used to steal vehicles, encouraging vehicle owners to secure their vehicles and working with industry to address vulnerability in vehicles.The Government is tackling acquisitive crime as a priority and is committed to reducing the ability for criminals to profit from crime, making it less attractive for offenders to commit thefts of goods, including tools. We have established a group of expert policing and academic partners who are taking forward work across a number of themes. These include actions to identify where and how stolen goods are sold; examining ways to ensure property is marked, identifiable and traceable; and encouraging due diligence checks by second-hand traders and increased enforcement from police.We are looking at adding this by SI to the matters covered by Greg Smith's PMB once it has passed.

Asylum: Brighton and Hove

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what statutory basis she is transferring children into hotels in Brighton and Hove.

Robert Jenrick: The significant increase in the numbers of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children arriving in the UK has placed incredible pressure on the asylum system. Out of necessity, and with the children’s best interests in mind, we have arranged for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children to be accommodated on an emergency and temporary basis in hotels whilst placements with local authorities are being vigorously pursued.We recognise hotel accommodation is a temporary means to accommodate the increased number of UASC arriving and are only ever a contingency option and not a long-term solution.The Home Office does not have, and therefore cannot discharge, duties under Part 3 of the Children Act 1989. It is for the local authority where an unaccompanied child is located to consider its duties under the Children’s Act 1989.

Asylum: Children

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many migrant children have been reported missing from Home Office hotels in each of the last twelve months.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the age range of migrant children reported missing from Home Office hotels in the last twelve months.

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government taking steps to ensure the safety of unaccompanied migrant children who go missing from Home Office hotels.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has no power to hold under-18s in hotels or any temporary accommodation if they wish to leave.We have robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in hotels are as safe and supported as possible as we seek urgent placements with a local authority.Young people are supported by team leaders and support workers who are on site 24 hours a day.Records are kept and monitored of children leaving and returning to the hotel. Support workers will accompany children off site on activities and social excursions, or where specific vulnerabilities are identified. All sites have security staff to ensure the safety and welfare of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.Local authorities have a statutory duty to protect all children, regardless of where they go missing from. In the concerning occasion when any child goes missing, regardless of their status, they work closely with other local agencies, including the police, to urgently establish their whereabouts and ensure they are safe.Since July 2021, when UASC were first accommodated in hotels, there have been 440 missing episodes (the term episode used as some children have gone missing been located and subsequently gone missing again). As of 26 January 2023, 199 remain missing.

Domestic Abuse: Victim Support Schemes

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to introduce new funding aimed at increasing access to support for victims of domestic abuse.

Miss Sarah Dines: Tackling domestic abuse is a key Government priority. It is deeply harmful, not only because of the profound effect it can have on victims, survivors and their loved ones, but also because of the harm it inflicts on wider society. In July 2021 the government published the cross-Government Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy to help ensure that women and girls are safe everywhere - at home, online and on the streets. This was followed by a complementary Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan, published in March 2022 and which seeks to transform the whole of society’s response to domestic abuse. Within the Domestic Abuse Plan, the government commits to investing over £230 million, over a three-year period, into tackling these heinous crimes. This includes over £140 million for supporting victims of which £47 million will be ringfenced for community-based services to support victims and survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence.

British Nationality: British Indian Ocean Territory

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for the new British nationality route for people of Chagossian descent have been (a) received and (b) approved by her Department since 23 November 2022.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office does not routinely publish data on how many applications for citizenship have been received or approved under a specific registration provision, including the provision being referenced here.The most recent published data on citizenship applications was issued in November 2022.https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data#uk-visas-and-immigration

Refugees: Resettlement

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of the recommendations of the International Rescue Committee report entitled From Harm to Home published on 30 January 2023.

Robert Jenrick: The UK has a proud history of providing protection to those who need it. We welcome the contributions from all organisations who support refugees in the UK. We will consider the recommendations of the report as part of the usual process for developing government policy in this area.

Asylum: Hong Kong

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average processing time was for asylum applications made by people from Hong Kong from the initial claim to the outcome in the latest period for which data is available.

Robert Jenrick: This data for average processing times is not held in a reportable format, not routinely published, and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost as it requires a manual search through individual records. The Home Office does publish data on the number of asylum applications awaiting an initial decision by duration, for main applicants only. This data can be found at Asy_04 of the published Immigration Statistics: List of tables - GOV.UKhttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1118222/asylum-summary-sep-2022-tables.ods Further detailed asylum and resettlement data sets, filtered by nationality can be found: List of tables - GOV.UKhttps://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets

Afghanistan: Refugees

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has held with representatives of Kirklees Council on the resettlement of Afghan refugees in Huddersfield.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office has sought assistance from all UK local authorities to help with the resettlement and integration of eligible individuals evacuated from Afghanistan or safe third countries to the UK. This has been either through direct contact with individual councils such as Kirklees or, as is normally the case throughout the country, via the regional Strategic Migration Partnership.

Immigration

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of people who are eligible for the five-year route to settlement introduced in 2022 under the Appendix Private Life to the Immigration Rules.

Robert Jenrick: Eligibility for the Private Life routes is set out in the Immigration Rules. Each application is considered on its merits and on a case by-case basis taking into account the individual circumstances.

Immigration: Fees and Charges

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits to providing a fee waiver for indefinite leave to remain applications for young people aged under 25 who can demonstrate that they cannot afford the fee after meeting essential living costs.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office keeps the fees for immigration and nationality applications under review. However, no specific assessment on the potential merits of providing a fee waiver for Indefinite Leave to Remain for people aged under 25 has been undertaken.The Home Office provides exceptions to the need to pay application fees in a number of specific circumstances. These exceptions ensure the Home Office’s immigration and nationality fee structure complies with international obligations and wider government policy.

Birth Certificates: Disclosure of Information

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish a list of the circumstances in which a person is required by law to produce or show their birth certificate.

Robert Jenrick: The requested information is not centrally held by the Home Office.

Visas: British National (Overseas)

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications have been made for the British National Overseas visa route by independent 18–25-year-olds since that route was extended in November 2022.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office does not hold published data on the number of applications that have been made to the British National (Overseas) route by18–25-year-olds since the route was expanded on 30 November 2022.The Home Office releases data on the BN(O) route as part of the quarterly migration statistics.

Asylum: Children

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the response to the Urgent Question on 24 January 2023 on Unaccompanied Asylum-seeking Children, Official Report column 859, of 240 missing children that have subsequently been located, whether attempts were made to obtain information from the children on (a) why they went missing, (b) how they went missing and (c) what their experience was whilst missing; and if she will make a statement.

Robert Jenrick: We are considering all options available to ensure unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) receive the critical care they need and to end the use of hotels. We have robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in hotels are as safe and supported as possible as we seek urgent placements with a local authority.Young people are supported by team leaders and support workers who are on site 24 hours a day. Further care is provided in hotels by teams of social workers and nurses.Records are kept and monitored of children leaving and returning to the hotel. Support workers will accompany children off site on activities and social excursions, or in this instance where specific vulnerabilities are identified.  The Home Office has no power to hold children in hotels or any temporary accommodation if they wish to leave.If a child who has gone missing is returned to the hotel, a follow up Multi Agency Stakeholder Forum (MASF) will be chaired by the LA (of the area the hotel is in) and a Social Worker at the hotel will complete a returns interview. They will then work with the child to understand the reasons for the absence.In any instance where a child goes missing, the Home Office work around the clock with the police and local authorities to ensure the children in our care are safe. The Police are responsible for locating any missing children.

Domestic Abuse: Victim Support Schemes

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure (a) accessible and (b) culturally sensitive support is available for survivors of domestic abuse.

Miss Sarah Dines: Tackling domestic abuse is a key Government priority. It is deeply harmful, not only because of the profound effect it can have on victims, survivors and their loved ones, but also because of the harm it inflicts on wider society. The importance of specialised provision, which is able to provide culturally sensitive support was clearly made in the Violence Against Women and Girls Call for Evidence which we ran in 2021.The Call for Evidence elicited an unprecedented 180,000 responses, and underpins both the National Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy and Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan. There was a clear call “for support to be tailored to specific forms of violence against women and girls or specific groups of victims and survivors (including men and boys, people from different ethnicities and LGBT people) to ensure all victims and survivors were able to access appropriate and effective support.” This is why the Domestic Abuse Plan, commits to over £140 million for supporting victims of which £47 million will be ringfenced for community-based services to support victims and survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence. Furthermore, we will ensure this funding is accessible to the range of organisations and agencies working with victims and survivors, and have sought input from the sector to support the government do this.

Domestic Abuse: Victim Support Schemes

Rachel Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2022 to Question 107146 on Domestic Abuse: Victim Support Schemes, what progress her Department has made on delivery of the flexible fund in the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan .

Miss Sarah Dines: The Government is committed to delivering the ‘flexible fund’ that was set out in the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan published in March 2022. The Plan made several multi-year commitments covering the duration of this Parliament, including the flexible fund.Since the Plan was published, detailed work has been underway on how such a fund could be operationalised. This includes considering the advantages and disadvantages of the fund making direct cash payments to victims and survivors, as opposed to domestic abuse charities purchasing goods and services on behalf of victims and survivors.If the fund were to make cash payments, we have considered how to ensure they solely benefit victims and survivors. This is particularly important in cases of economic abuse, where perpetrators control the finances of those they abuse.Further details on how the ‘flexible fund’ will be delivered should be made in the coming months.

Domestic Abuse: Older People

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on the proportion of (a) victims and (b) perpetrators of domestic abuse of people over the age of 65 by police authority.

Miss Sarah Dines: The Home Office holds information on the number of domestic abuse-related offences by age of victim recorded by 26 police forces in England and Wales. Data on the proportion of these offences that involved a victim aged 65 or over for the financial year 2021/22 for these forces are given in the table.The Home Office does not hold routinely collect data on the age of the perpetrator for these offences.Table (xlsx, 14.2KB)

British National (Overseas): Safety

Dr Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the safety of people in the UK who hold British National (Overseas) status.

Robert Jenrick: The UK has taken firm action following restrictions on the rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong. The UK will continue to stand up for the rights of the people of Hong Kong, as we have demonstrated by introducing the bespoke immigration route for British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) status holders and their eligible family members. By the end of 2021 there were over 100,000 applications for the route. We continually assess potential threats in the UK, and take the protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety in the UK very seriously. As you would expect, Home Office officials work closely with the FCDO and DLUHC, as well as other government departments, to ensure that the UK is a safe and welcoming place for both those who hold BN(O) status and other Hongkongers.Attempts by foreign Governments to coerce, intimidate, harass or harm their critics overseas, undermining democracy and the rule of law, are unacceptable. Anyone who is concerned for their safety should contact the police.Furthermore, the Security Minister made a statement on the issue of transnational repression to the House on 1 November. I said this Government is committed to tackling this challenge wherever it originates and announced an internal review into transnational repression. This work is underway and the House will be updated on progress in due course.

Asylum: Children

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the response to the Urgent Question on 24 January 2023 on Unaccompanied Asylum-seeking Children, Official Report column 859, of the 4,600 unaccompanied children that have been accommodated in hotels since July 2021, what is the (a) shortest, (b) average and (c) longest number of days that they have remained in that form of accommodation.

Robert Jenrick: All young people in interim emergency unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) hotels are referred immediately to a local authority under the mandated National Transfer Scheme (NTS) within the shortest time frame possible after arrival. We are clear that we must end the use of hotels as soon as possible. To that end, we are providing local authorities with children’s services with £15,000 for every eligible young person they take into their care from a dedicated UASC hotel, or the Reception and Safe Care Service in Kent, by the end of February 2023.The unprecedented number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) in small boats has placed significant local authority care places for UASC under immense strain. There were 5,152 asylum applications from unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in the year ending September 2022, a 36% increase compared with 2019 (3,775).Out of necessity, and with the best interests of the child in mind, we have had no alternative but to temporarily use hotels to give some unaccompanied children a roof over their heads whilst local authority accommodation is found.The time it takes for a local authority to identify a placement varies and has meant some young people experiencing delays in transferring. Where there are significant delays we will look to reallocate the young person to a different local authority.There are many reasons for delays in NTS. For instance, delays also occur where a child refuses to transfer to the placement. In this instance, social workers from the emergency hotels and local authorities work close with the children to encourage them to take the offered placement.The length of stay for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) in Home Office UASC hotels are:Shortest stay – 0 daysLongest stay – 122 daysAverage length of stay: 19.04 days

British National (Overseas): Safety

Dr Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to ensure the safety and wellbeing of people from Hong Kong living in Scotland who hold British National (Overseas) status.

Robert Jenrick: The UK has taken firm action following restrictions on the rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong. The UK will continue to stand up for the rights of the people of Hong Kong, as we have demonstrated by introducing the bespoke immigration route for British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) status holders and their eligible family members. By the end of 2021 there were over 100,000 applications for the route. We continually assess potential threats in the UK, and take the protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms, and safety in the UK very seriously. As you would expect, Home Office officials work closely with the FCDO and DLUHC, as well as other government departments, to ensure that the UK is a safe and welcoming place for both those who hold BN(O) status and other Hongkongers.Attempts by foreign Governments to coerce, intimidate, harass or harm their critics overseas, undermining democracy and the rule of law, are unacceptable. Anyone who is concerned for their safety should contact the police.Furthermore, the Security Minister made a statement on the issue of transnational repression to the House on 1 November. I said this Government is committed to tackling this challenge wherever it originates and announced an internal review into transnational repression. This work is underway and the House will be updated on progress in due course.

Asylum

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum claims on the basis of modern slavery were made by migrants (a) from Albania, (b) from Eritrea and (c) in total who crossed the English Channel in small boats in 2022.

Robert Jenrick: The next quarterly statistics release on irregular migration to the UK, published on 23 February, will include data on modern slavery claims from small boats arrivals.New measures to strengthen our National Referral Mechanism against misuse came into force last week. New legislation will ensure we only support genuine victims; not those who seek to abuse our laws to stop their removal.In the first three quarters of 2022 (Jan to Sept) the number of NRM referrals for potential victims of modern slavery for certain nationalities were:3,432 Albanian897 EritreanIn the first two quarters of 2022 (Jan to June) based on FOI data obtained by Migration Watch UK, there were 1,156 individuals who crossed the channel who made NRM referrals.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Regulator of Social Housing: Inspections

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2023 to Question 117424 on Social Rented Housing: Inspections, when routine inspections of small social housing providers were last inspected.

Dehenna Davison: The Regulator of Social Housing sets the standards registered providers must meet. The same standards apply to all providers regardless of size, and the regulator has the same expectations of all providers delivering good quality homes and services. The regulator currently considers referrals alleging breaches of the standards, and can take regulatory action where a breach has caused, or will cause if no action is taken, serious detriment to tenants. Through the Social Housing Regulation Bill, we are removing the ‘serious detriment test’, which will lower the bar for intervention and allow the Regulator to investigate or take enforcement action in relation to consumer matters without having to meet the current high bar of ‘serious detriment’.

Building Regulations

Nick Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the written statement by the then-Minister of State for Equalities, Local Government, Faith and Communities entitled Building Regulations, published on 4 July 2022, HCWS172,  when his Department plans to publish the outcome of the consultation published in autumn 2022; and what recent progress his Department has made on changing the building regulations and associated guidance.

Lee Rowley: This work continues to be undertaken and we will make an announcement regarding next steps in due course.

Housing: Sewers

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent steps his Department has taken to help ensure that Councils make appropriate checks on the capacity of drainage systems when approving new developments.

Rachel Maclean: Planning Practice Guidance outlines that when considering proposals for major development, the local planning authority will need to consult the lead local flood authority on surface water drainage. In addition, the National Planning Policy Framework sets out that major developments should incorporate sustainable drainage systems, unless there is clear evidence that this would be inappropriate. Local authorities can also require developers to make contributions towards flood risk management infrastructure, if required and subject to meeting the relevant, statutory tests.Under proposals in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, the Government has committed to consulting on whether to make water companies a statutory consultee on planning applications, and if so, how best to take this forward. In addition, under the new Infrastructure Levy, local authorities will be required to engage infrastructure providers when considering how Levy proceeds should be spent. These infrastructure providers will be set out in regulations.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Gender

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to ensure that data collected by his (a) Department and (b) Department’s associated arms-length bodies records biological sex as opposed to gender identity.

Dehenna Davison: When it is necessary to collate data on individuals, it is best practice to mirror the methodology used in the Census which distinguishes between sex and gender identity to ensure consistency and allow for comparative statistical analysis.In some areas of public policy (for example, DLUHC policy on the provision of separate toilets for men and women), biological sex will be a relevant and pertinent consideration.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Conditions of Employment

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if they will take steps to (a) publish an equality impact assessment and (b) consult with trade unions when proposing new HR policies for their Department; and if they will make a statement.

Dehenna Davison: The department has a good relationship with our Trades Unions and works constructively with them on a range of employment matters including new or revised policies.

Burlington House

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to publish the report he commissioned from PriceWaterhouseCoopers on the public benefit value provided by the Learned Societies at Burlington House.

Dehenna Davison: The Department did not commission PriceWaterhouse Coopers to produce the report.

Economic Growth

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans he has to set out more detail on his Department’s proposals for supporting knowledge-intensive clusters to drive economic growth, as announced in the Autumn Statement 2022.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans he has to set out more detail on his Department’s proposals for supporting knowledge-intensive clusters to drive economic growth, as announced in the Autumn statement.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he will meet with Maritime UK to discuss the recommendations in the Coastal Powerhouse Manifesto on planning reform.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how his Department will work with the maritime sector to refocus the Investment Zones programme.

Dehenna Davison: Further to the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, Investment Zones are being refocused to catalyse a number of the highest potential knowledge intensive growth clusters to boost productivity, growth and job creation. These will be based around the Chancellor's five priority sectors.We will work closely with Mayors, the Devolved Administrations, local authorities, businesses, and other local partners.I recently met with Maritime UK, and look forward to further engagement as this policy develops.

High Rise Flats: Safety

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many Large Panel System housing blocks in England over four storeys high have not had their gas systems removed.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has provided financial support to local authorities for the removal of gas systems in Large Panel System housing over four storeys high in England.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department has taken to help ensure that local authorities have carried out the works needed to ensure the safety of large panel system housing.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of progress made by local authorities in ensuring that large panel system housing blocks have been strengthened and their gas systems removed.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many Large Panel System housing blocks over four storeys high have had their gas systems removed in England In each year since 2010 .

Lee Rowley: Responsibility for the safety and maintenance of large panel system (LPS) blocks lies with the building owners, including Local Authorities where they are the owners. Local authorities are also responsible for keeping the housing conditions in their area under review (including structural safety) with a view to identifying any action that may need to be taken by them.To augment the existing approach, we are also setting up the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) to oversee the safety and standards of all buildings. It will also implement the new safety case regime which all occupied 'higher-risk buildings' (HRBs) - including all blocks of flats more than 18m - will be subject to. Under this new regime, accountable persons will be required to demonstrate how they are managing building safety risks related to the spread of fire and structural failure, on an ongoing basis. This system will require the accountable person to take all reasonable steps to ensure they have effective and proportionate measures in place to manage building safety risks and that the appropriate level of protection is provided in these buildings.

Buildings: Insulation

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many and what proportion of (a) private and (b) public sector orphan buildings have EWS1 forms in (i) Portsmouth and (ii) England.

Lee Rowley: An EWS1 form is not a statutory or regulatory requirement and the requirement for, and use of EWS1 forms, is determined by the lending policies of banks and building societies. The Government does not hold a database of EWS1 forms. EWS1 forms completed by registered assessors can be viewed on the Fire Industry Association's Building Safety Information Portal here.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Recruitment

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much his Department spent on recruitment consultants in each of the last three years.

Dehenna Davison: This information requested is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Department for Business and Trade

Products: Safety

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many companies have been fined for a breach of the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 in each year since 2018.

Kevin Hollinrake: The General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (GPSR) do not contain provisions for fines to be issued by regulators. Fines issued to companies for a breach of GPSR would be issued by a court. Information about such fines is not held centrally.

Consumers: Protection

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many companies have been the subject of private legal action for breach of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 in each of the last five years.

Kevin Hollinrake: This information is not held centrally by the Department. Details from higher courts of record about the outcomes of legal action under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 may be available online through The National Archives "Find Case Law” search facility, which is the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice and His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Services.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Vehicles

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many (a) fossil fuel-, (b) electric- and (c) hybrid-powered road-legal vehicles their Department purchased in the last 24 months.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Department does not purchase vehicles.In terms of existing vehicles, the Department currently contracts with the Government Car Service, which is a division within the Department for Transport, for the provision of two cars. The vehicles supplied to the Department by the Government Car Service are owned and operated by the Department for Transport and are leased by the Department.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-car-service.The vehicle fuel type can vary depending on which car has been allocated to cover on that day. Generally, the cars are electric or hybrid.

Long Covid: Flexible Working

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has had discussions with employers to encourage them to offer (a) part-time work and (b) flexible work to people with long covid.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Department speaks regularly with employers about flexible working – including part time work. These discussions have covered a range of issues, including the importance of flexible working in managing employees with long term health conditions, such as long covid. In December 2022 the Government announced plans[1] to make the right to request flexible working a day one right, alongside other changes to make flexible working more accessible to all employees. The Government is pleased to support the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Private Members’ Bill[2] which will deliver several of these changes.[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/making-flexible-working-the-default[2] https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3198

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Gender

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to ensure that data collected by his (a) Department and (b) Department’s associated arms-length bodies records biological sex as opposed to gender identity.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Department already collects employee data on legal sex. Arms-length bodies are responsible for collecting data relating to their employees to review the impacts of policies and procedures and to meet statutory obligations.

Loneliness: Employment

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact on levels of loneliness and social isolation among affected people of workplace (a) harassment and (b) discrimination and bullying; and if he will take steps to encourage employers to introduce policies on harassment and bullying which aim to reduce those levels.

Kevin Hollinrake: There is evidence that discrimination, bullying and disrespect are triggers of loneliness. In the coming months the Government will publish the fourth annual report on the loneliness strategy, including a commitment to engage with the APPG for Tackling Loneliness and Connecting Communities on their recent inquiry into workplace loneliness. The Government has published guidance that sets out the steps that employees can take if they are experiencing bullying or harassment at work, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/workplace-bullying-and-harassment. The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service has published useful guidance on how to deal with bullying in the workplace. This is available at: https://www.acas.org.uk/if-youre-treated-unfairly-at-work/being-bullied.

Minimum Wage

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many employers were named under the National Minimum Wage Naming Scheme each year between 2011 and 2022.

Kevin Hollinrake: Since the National Minimum Wage Naming Scheme began in February 2014, we have named 2,495 employers. Publicly naming employers who do not comply with the rules remains an important part of our enforcement and compliance toolkit. It clearly shows that it is never acceptable to underpay workers and that employers who do will be held responsible. The table below sets out how many employers have been named to date.RoundDate of NamingEmployers named1Feb 201452Jun 2014253Nov 2014254Jan 2015375Feb 2015706Mar 2015487Jul 2015758Oct 20151139Feb 20169210Aug 201619711Feb 201735912Aug 201723313Dec 201726014Mar 201817915Jun 201823916Dec 202013917Aug 202119118Dec 2021208Total 2,495

Vacancies

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an estimate of the number of (a) accounting, (b) architecture and (c) quantity surveying job vacancies as of 31 January 2023; and if he will make an assessment of whether there are skills gaps in those sectors.

Kevin Hollinrake: ONS vacancies data[1] shows that there were 122,000 vacancies in the professional, scientific and technical activities sector, which includes accounting, architecture and quantity surveying, in the three months to December 2022. The sector currently has a vacancy rate of 4.5%. The number of vacancies in the sector has fallen 6.2% compared with the first quarter of 2022 but remain at relatively high levels and are 58% higher than in the final quarter of 2019. The Government is investing an additional £3.8 billion into skills and further education over this Parliament to ensure workers develop the skills businesses need. More specifically, the Department for Education set a strategy for skills reform which puts employers at the heart of skills training and education in the Skills for Job white paper. The Government help to articulate what employers need from the skills system through our sector teams’ engagement and sharing workforce data and intelligence with DfE’s Unit for Future Skills. [1]https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peoplenotinwork/unemployment/datasets/vacanciesbyindustryvacs02

Northern Ireland Office

Question

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill on Northern Ireland.

Mr Steve Baker: I refer the hon Gentleman to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon Member for Bristol East (UIN 903467).

Belfast Agreement

Robbie Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps his Department is taking to mark the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement heralds an extraordinary achievement for Northern Ireland. We have already announced the first part of our anniversary programme: an education initiative with the National Archives to inform young people across the UK of the journey to the Agreement and Northern Ireland’s transformation since. The Government is committed to marking this historic occasion appropriately and sensitively, in a manner that speaks to the whole community and that enables us to look forward to a more peaceful and prosperous future.

Foreign Investment in UK: Northern Ireland

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions he has had with relevant stakeholders in the United States on promoting investment opportunities in Northern Ireland.

Chris Heaton-Harris: I was delighted to have the opportunity to visit the United States over the course of last week. I met the special envoy to Northern Ireland, Joe Kennedy III, where we discussed Northern Ireland’s rich potential for US investors. I also attended a roundtable with US business leaders in New York and met businesses in Boston. I was greatly encouraged by the enthusiasm shown towards investment in Northern Ireland. There are huge investment opportunities to deepen UK-US trading links benefiting communities on both sides of the Atlantic, and I look forward to working to strengthen these bonds.

Northern Ireland Office: Recruitment

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much his Department has spent on headhunters in each of the last three years.

Mr Steve Baker: There has been no spend on headhunters by the Northern Ireland Office in each of the last three years.

Treasury

Veterans: Disability Aids

Henry Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential merits of providing a long-term funding stream for specialist (a) mobility and (b) orthotic equipment for veterans that was previously provided under the Veterans Mobility Fund.

John Glen: The Government is committed to supporting all our veterans, and to ensuring that they continue to thrive after leaving the services. Since 2014, the Government has committed £773m of LIBOR fines to support Armed Forces and Emergency Service charities. As part of this package, the Chancellor awarded the Royal British Legion £3m to develop a Veterans Mobility Fund, designed to meet the wellbeing needs of veterans discharged with service-attributable serious physical injury. At the same time, the Chancellor also awarded £10m to develop a Veterans Hearing Fund, providing support to veterans who suffered hearing loss during service. In 2019, at the Royal British Legion’s request, the Treasury authorised the transfer of almost £1.5m from the Veterans Mobility Fund to the Veterans Hearing Fund, following dramatic increases in the rate of applications for the Hearing Fund and a comparatively static application rate for the Mobility Fund. Both the Veterans Hearing and Veterans Mobility Funds have now closed. Since 2020, we have announced a further £10m funding to support veterans’ mental health, £475k to support the development of a digital and data strategy for the sector, £5m to enable charities to address the impact of events in Afghanistan on veterans, a £5m Veterans’ Health Innovation Fund, and £8.55m in December last year to end veteran homelessness in 2023. More than 100 service charities, including those who support veterans, also benefitted from £6m of the £750m to support the charity sector announced by the Chancellor in April 21 in support of COVID-19. The Governments Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan sets out the steps we will take in the next two years towards our ambition of making the UK the best place in the world to be a veteran by 2028. The Chancellor engages with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care routinely on health matters.

Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation

Liam Byrne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) licences and (b) waivers to UK sanctions restrictions have been issued since February 2021 by the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation.

James Cartlidge: Details of the numbers of licences that the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has issued by financial year can be found in OFSI’s Annual Review documents, which are publicly available on OFSI’s website. Full details of the general licences issued by OFSI are also available on OFSI’s website.

Capital Gains Tax: Income Tax

Dan Carden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of aligning the rates of Capital Gains Tax and Income Tax.

Victoria Atkins: As set out in the Government’s response to the Office of Tax Simplification's report on Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on 30 November 2021, substantial reforms to CGT rates and allowances would involve a number of wider policy trade-offs and so careful thought must be given to the impact that they would have on taxpayers, as well as any additional administrative burden on HMRC. The Government will continue to keep the tax system under review to ensure it is simple and efficient.

Belarus and Russia: Sanctions

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether any people designated under the UK’s sanctions regime for (a) Russia and (b) Belarus have been granted access to frozen assets.

James Cartlidge: Where there are derogations set out in the sanctions regimes, and where the conditions of those derogations have been met, HM Treasury, through the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), may authorise activity that would otherwise be prohibited, including the use of frozen funds. Licences have been issued under the Russia and Belarus sanctions regimes. Information regarding licences issued can be found in OFSI’s Annual Review documents, which are publicly available on OFSI’s website.

Financial Services: Environment Protection

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department will publish the updated Green Finance Strategy.

Andrew Griffith: The Government will publish an updated Green Finance Strategy setting out how the UK will go further on sustainable finance in the coming months. The Government is committed to an ambitious programme of work on Green Finance as set out in its Greening Finance Roadmap in 2021.To ensure that the Government’s approach is effective, a call for evidence for an update to the Green Finance Strategy was launched on 12 May and concluded on 22 June 2022. The Government is currently reviewing the responses it received. We will also take into consideration the findings of the recently published Net Zero review conducted by Chris Skidmore when publishing the Strategy.

Sanctions

Pat McFadden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what procedures his Department uses to investigate the merits of applications made by individuals subject to sanctions for licenses which allow them to use UK courts.

Pat McFadden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he is taking steps to investigate allegations that his Department assisted Yevgeny Prigozhin to pursue libel action against Eliot Higgins.

Liam Byrne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Office for Financial Sanctions Implementation provided advice to ministerial private officers in his Department on enabling receipt of payments from lawyers acting on behalf of Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Holly Lynch: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the special licenses granted by his Department to the law firm undertaking work on behalf of Yevgeny Prigozhin required Ministerial approval.

James Cartlidge: HM Treasury does not comment on individual licensing cases. HM Treasury’s Office for Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) takes operational decisions relating to the implementation of financial sanctions in line with the relevant regulations. OFSI has not considered it appropriate for the Treasury to effectively decide on whether a case has sufficient merit to be permitted to proceed by deciding whether to license legal fees. Rather, OFSI's position has been that the merits should be decided by the appropriate court. OFSI assesses cases on a costs-basis only, ensuring that the fees requested are reasonable in accordance with the derogations available under the sanctions regimes. We need to carefully balance the right to legal representation - which is a fundamental one - with wider issues, including the aim and purpose of the sanctions. It is right therefore that Ministers are examining whether there are any changes that can be made to this policy.

Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation

Liam Byrne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will place in the Library of the House the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation framework for delegated decisions on sanction waivers and licences.

Liam Byrne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he plans to publish the review of the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation framework for delegated decisions on sanction waivers and licences.

James Cartlidge: There are currently no plans to publish the delegation framework. We need to carefully balance the right to legal representation - which is a fundamental one - with wider issues, including the aim and purpose of the sanctions. It is right therefore that Ministers are examining whether there are any changes that can be made to this policy.

Belarus and Russia: Sanctions

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) proceedings and (b) fines have been issued for breaches of the UK's sanctions regime on (i) Russia and (ii) Belarus in the period since 24 February 2022; and what the total value of fines has been for those breaches.

James Cartlidge: HM Treasury, through the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), is the UK’s competent authority responsible for the implementation of financial sanctions. It is therefore the body responsible for civil enforcement of financial sanctions breaches. OFSI does not issue proceedings in response to financial sanctions breaches. The details of civil monetary penalties issued by OFSI are published on GOV.UK here [https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/enforcement-of-financial-sanctions].

Taxation: Fines

James Murray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February to Question 135480 on Taxation: Fines, for what reason not all penalties charged by HMRC are required to be recorded on the National Penalty Processing System.

James Murray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February to Question 135480 on Taxation: Fines, how many penalties issued by HMRC and recorded on the National Penalty Processing System for unpaid tax amounted to (a) less than £1,000, (b) £1,000 to £9,999, (c) £10,000 to £99,999, (d) £100,000 to £999,999 and (e) £1,000,000 or above in each of the last five years.

Victoria Atkins: The National Penalty Processing System (NPPS) is used by HMRC to record certain types of information. The NPPS is not used to record all penalties charged by HMRC across all of its compliance or wider activities.

Economic Growth

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he plans to take to stimulate economic growth following the publication of the International Monetary Fund forecast on 31 January 2023.

Andrew Griffith: In their January 31st Publication, the figures from the IMF confirm that we are not immune to the inflationary pressures hitting nearly all advanced economies in 2023, we should not let short term challenges – which the government is committed to addressing – obscure the long-term forecasts. In the longer term, the International Monetary Fund revised the UK’s 2022 growth upwards to 4.1%, which is one of the highest growth rates in Europe for 2022. Looking forwards, it showed that our cumulative growth over the 2022 to 2024 period is predicted to be higher than that of Germany and Japan, and at a similar rate to that of the United States of America. As set out in his Bloomberg Speech, the Chancellor will be bringing forward a package of measures at Spring Budget to deliver on the government’s three economic priorities; to halve inflation, grow the economy and get debt falling. These will build on the measures announced at Autumn Statement, including maintaining record levels of capital investment and safeguarding the highest ever R&D budget; supporting business to invest and innovate, through permanently setting the Annual Investment allowance at its highest ever level of £1 million, introducing a £13.6 billion package of business rates support; and committing to reviewing EU-derived regulations in key growth sectors.

Sanctions: Russia

Pat McFadden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has granted licenses to (a) any members of the Wagner Group or (b) any individuals who are subject to sanctions because of their association with the Kremlin to pursue legal actions in UK courts.

Dan Carden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish a list of individuals that have been exempted from sanctions by the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation; if he will provide details of licensing conditions required by the OFSI; and how many applications for special licences have been rejected.

James Cartlidge: OFSI publishes the number of financial sanctions licences issued in its Annual Review which is publicly available from OFSI’s website. OFSI will publish the latest figures in the next Annual Review in due course. OFSI does not publish the names of designated persons or applicants who have been granted specific licences. Licensing conditions are decided on a case-by-case basis.

Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation: Licensing

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department's review of the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation's sanctions licensing regime will include a full review of all licenses that have been issued in relation to professional legal fees or the provision of legal services.

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the proposed review into the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation licensing regime will include a review of how the General Licenses for legal fees has been functioning and whether it should be (a) amended or (b) terminated.

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many applications his Department has received under the General Licence for (a) litigation and (b) legal advice.

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what safeguarding mechanisms he is putting in place to ensure that the general legal licence does not allow legal fees to be paid by sanctioned bodies or individuals for the purpose of bringing forward Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation.

James Cartlidge: HM Treasury is considering its approach to licensing to see if any changes are required to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation’s (OFSI) licensing practice in relation to legal fees licence applications. We need to carefully balance the right to legal representation - which is a fundamental one - with wider issues of public policy. There are legal constraints on OFSI's ability to grant and refuse licences - the specific purposes are set out in the Russia sanctions regulations for which the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office is responsible. The General Licence relating to legal fees is due to expire on 27 April 2023. Before General Licences are renewed or permitted to expire, the permissions are reassessed by HM Treasury to ensure that they remain appropriate. The Government remains committed to introducing targeted anti-SLAPP legislation to stop this misuse of our legal system. Reforms will include a statutory definition of SLAPPs, an early dismissal mechanism, and costs protection for SLAPPs cases (via secondary legislation). The Ministry of Justice intend to legislate as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Energy: Taxation

Claire Hanna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the Energy Profits Levy in the context of profits announced by energy companies.

James Cartlidge: The Energy Profits Levy was introduced in May 2022 to respond to very high prices that meant oil and gas companies are benefiting from exceptional profits. At Autumn Statement 2022, the government confirmed the rate of the levy would rise by a ten percentage points to 35%. This is on top of the 40% tax rate under the permanent regime, bringing the combined headline rate of tax for the sector to 75%, one of the highest amongst comparable North Sea regimes. The Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) forecast at Autumn Statement 2022 estimates revenues from EPL are expected to be £41.6 billion over the next five years. Total UK oil and gas revenues over this period are forecast to be around £80 billion. As with all taxes, this is kept under review and any changes will be considered and announced by the Chancellor.

Yevgeny Prigozhin

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason his Department decided to grant special licences to the law firm undertaking work on behalf of Yevgeny Prigozhin; and to what extent were Ministers (a) aware of and (b) involved in the decision.

James Cartlidge: It is long-standing government policy not to comment on individual cases. With regards to the involvement of Ministers, I refer to my answers given at the Urgent Question on January 25th. OFSI assesses cases for the granting of licences on a costs-basis only, ensuring that the fees requested are reasonable in accordance with the derogations available under the sanctions regimes. This is not a judgment on the merits of the case (which is a matter for the independent judiciary), or on the character of any individuals involved. We need to carefully balance the right to legal representation - which is a fundamental one - with wider issues, including the aim and purpose of sanctions. It is right therefore that Ministers are examining whether there are any changes that can be made to this policy.

Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation

Dan Carden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department is taking steps to help improve the transparency of decisions of the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation.

Dan Carden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will publish all correspondence between his Department, Yevgeny Prigozhin and his legal representatives.

James Cartlidge: HM Treasury does not comment on individual licensing cases or publish correspondence with applicants for licences.We need to carefully balance the right to legal representation - which is a fundamental one - with wider issues, including the aim and purpose of the sanctions. It is right therefore that Ministers are examining whether there are any changes that can be made to the licensing of legal expenses.

Taxation: Fines

James Murray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February to Question 135480 on Taxation: Fines, what proportion of penalties charged by HMRC have not been recorded on the National Penalty Processing System in each the last five tax years.

Victoria Atkins: The National Penalty Processing System (NPPS) is used by HMRC to record certain types of information, in particular penalties for:Inaccuracies within returns and documentsFailure to NotifyDeliberate Withholding of InformationNPPS is a standalone system for these purposes only. It is not used to record all penalties charged by HMRC across all of its compliance or wider activities. HMRC does not hold centrally information on penalties recorded outside the National Penalty Processing System. The requested information is therefore not available.

Multinational Companies: Taxation

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to HM Revenue and Customs' policy paper ‘Multinational top-up tax: UK adoption of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Pillar 2, published on 20 July 2022, if he will publish the calculations behind the estimate of £8.2m annual costs to businesses affected by the measure.

Victoria Atkins: The £8.2 million average reoccurring annual impact cost was calculated based on HMRC’s Standard Cost Model methodology for determining the administrative impacts of compliant, efficient businesses complying with new measures.

Multinational Companies: Taxation

Gareth Bacon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the policy paper entitled Multinational top-up tax: UK adoption of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Pillar 2 published on 20 July 2022, by what calculations the estimate of an ongoing annual administrative burden on UK businesses of £8.2m was arrived at; and if he will place a copy of those calculations in the library of the House.

Victoria Atkins: Pillar 2 rules: UK implementation of global minimum corporate tax reforms from 31 December 2023 was announced at Autumn Budget 2022 and is projected to raise over £8.9 billion over the next 5 years. The £8.2 million average reoccurring annual impact cost was calculated based on HMRC’s Standard Cost Model methodology for determining the administrative impacts of compliant, efficient businesses complying with new measures.

Multinational Companies: Taxation

Gareth Bacon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Autumn Statement 2022, pg. 60, Line 33, what calculations his Department used to establish the figure of £2.11 billion of revenue in 2024-25 from implementation of the global minimum corporate tax reforms; and if he will place a copy of those calculations in the Library of the House.

Victoria Atkins: The process for estimating the Exchequer yield from implementation of Pillar 2 policy in the UK can be found in the Autumn Budget 2022: Policy Costings, available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1118364/Autumn_Statement_2022_Policy_Costings_.pdf.

Economic Growth

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has held recent discussions with the IMF on the UK's projected rate of economic growth.

Andrew Griffith: Treasury officials are in regular dialogue with the IMF, including through the UK Delegation to the IMF and bilateral engagement with IMF staff.The IMF will conduct an Article IV Mission to the UK in due course.

Economic Growth

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the IMF's growth forecast for the UK relative to other G7 economies.

Andrew Griffith: The Chancellor has set out a vision for growth, which includes building on our strong fundamentals for innovation, supporting business investment and encouraging workforce participation. He will further set out his policies at the Spring Budget alongside the OBR’s forecast on 15th March.

Treasury: Vehicles

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) fossil fuel-, (b) electric- and (c) hybrid-powered road-legal vehicles their Department purchased in the last 24 months.

James Cartlidge: No vehicles have been purchased by HM Treasury in the last 24 months.

Belarus and Russia: Freezing of Assets

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what amount of frozen assets under the UK's sanctions regimes for (a) Russia and (b) Belarus have been released for maintenance of those assets including, property, vehicles and business premises.

James Cartlidge: The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) does not disclose data from specific licences it has granted under UK sanctions regimes. Information about numbers of licences granted, including under the routine holding and maintenance derogation, can be found in OFSI’s Annual Review which is publicly available on OFSI’s website.

Plastics: Recycling

Greg Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of the Plastic Packaging Tax on trends in the rates of recycling for (a) flexible plastics and (b) films.

James Cartlidge: The Plastic Packaging Tax was introduced in April 2022 to encourage businesses to include more recycled plastic in packaging. This will increase demand for recycled plastic, which will stimulate increased levels of recycling and collection of plastic waste. The government continues to keep all taxes under review and will consider conducting an evaluation of PPT after at least one year’s worth of monitoring data has been collected.

Childcare: Tax Allowances

Darren Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the £500 cap on payments received every three months under the Tax-Free Childcare scheme in the context of increased childcare costs.

John Glen: Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) provides financial support for working parents with their childcare costs. For every £8 parents pay into their childcare account, the Government adds £2 up to a maximum of £2,000 in top up per year for each child up to age 11 and up to £4,000 per disabled child until they’re 17. Take-up of Tax-Free Childcare has continued to increase and is on a steady upward trajectory: at the end of September 2022 (the most recent data) an estimated 401,000 families used Tax-Free Childcare for 478,000 children, compared to 391,000 families for 468,000 children in June 2022. The Government spent £44 million on TFC top-up for families in September 2022. Additional childcare support is available: all three- and four-year-olds can access 15 hours of free childcare per week, regardless of circumstance. Eligible working parents of three- and four-year-olds can also access an additional 15 hours of free childcare per week, also known as 30 hours free childcare. Moreover, Universal Credit (UC) claimants are able to claim up to 85% of their childcare costs.

Car Allowances

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of a review of mileage rates in the context of increases in the cost of living.

Claire Hanna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will review the Approved Mileage Allowance Payment amounts before the Spring Budget 2023.

James Cartlidge: Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) are used by employers for administrative ease as a means of reimbursing an employee’s expenses for business mileage in their private vehicle. Like all taxes and allowances, the Government keeps the AMAP rate under review.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Youth Centres: Closures

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many youth centres have closed in England since 2010

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many youth centres have opened in England since 2010.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many youth centres have been funded by her Department since 2010.

Stuart Andrew: Local Authorities have a statutory duty to allocate funding to youth services in line with local need. This is funded from the Local Government settlement, which is anticipated to be almost £60 billion next year (FY 23/24). DCMS is committed to working with Youth Sector organisations and Local Authorities to complete the review of the Local Authority Statutory Duty Guidance for Youth Services.The Government recognises the vital role that youth services and activities play in improving the life chances and wellbeing of young people.The Government has committed to a National Youth Guarantee: that by 2025, every young person will have access to regular clubs and activities, adventures away from home and opportunities to volunteer. This is supported by a three-year investment of over £500 million in youth services, reflecting young people's priorities and addressing the inconsistencies in national youth spending with a firm focus on levelling up.Over £300 million of this investment has been dedicated to Phase 2 of the Youth Investment Fund, which will enable up to 300 youth facilities to be built or refurbished over the next three years in some of the less advantaged areas of England. The fund is currently open for bids.In addition, we are working with the National Youth Agency, who are conducting a National Youth Sector Census, a survey of all youth sector provision across England. It aims to capture an accurate picture of youth services and out of school activities.

Football Governance Fan-led Review

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of implementing the recommendation of the Fan-Led Review of Football Governance on a transfer levy on premiership football clubs; and whether she has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the matter of that proposed levy.

Stuart Andrew: The Government published its response to the recommendations made by the Independent Fan-Led Review of Football Governance in April 2022. The Government recognises the need for the long-term financial sustainability of football clubs, throughout the football pyramid.The Government will publish a White Paper on Football Governance reforms imminently, and it will set out our detailed plans to improve the financial stability and governance of football clubs across all leagues.

Football: Reform

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when she expects the White Paper on football reform to be published; and whether it is her policy to support the introduction of an independent regulator for English football.

Stuart Andrew: We will publish a White Paper that sets out a detailed plan on how football will be reformed through regulation in the coming weeks.

Leisure and Swimming Pools

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 31 January 2022 to Question 132433 on Leisure and Swimming Pools, what steps the Government is taking as a result of the roundtable discussion on Tuesday 24 January to discuss the issues affecting the leisure and physical activity sector.

Stuart Andrew: We recognise the importance of ensuring public access to swimming pools, as swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. The responsibility of providing this access lies at Local Authority level, and the Government continues to encourage Local Authorities to support swimming facilities.Last month I chaired a roundtable discussion with representatives from the public and private leisure sector including organisations such as Ukactive, Sport England, Swim England and the Local Government Association (LGA).During this session, we discussed the current challenges facing the sector and how we could work together and across government in order to resolve them. Officials remain in contact with representatives from across the sector and are working collaboratively on potential avenues for further support.

Cricket: Equality

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket on the publication date of its full report.

Stuart Andrew: I have met with the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket to discuss the current status of its report. The timing of the report’s publication is a matter for the Commission. I look forward to the report and hope that the relevant cricket authorities will take close account of its findings to drive cultural change across the sport.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps their Department takes to comply with section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992; and if they will make a statement.

Julia Lopez: There is a range of HR information which is published on GOV.UK and which is therefore publicly available.In addition, DCMS meets regularly with our recognised Trade Unions (PCS and FDA) and presents and shares a range of information and data where it is appropriate and in line with privacy statements.This helps to inform decision making through formal negotiation and meaningful consultation and engagement.DCMS is therefore complying with section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 and we always seek to work constructively with trade unions to reach fair and reasonable settlements.

Cultural Heritage: Ethiopia

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the Government's policy is on the (a) ownership and (b) home of the Maqdala Crown and treasures; and if she will make a statement.

Stuart Andrew: Objects and manuscripts from Maqdala are in the collections of a number of cultural institutions in the UK. These institutions operate independently of the Government and the care of their collections is therefore a matter for the trustees of each institution. Some of the museums which hold material from Maqdala are prevented by legislation from deaccessioning items in their collections, except in some limited circumstances.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Contracts

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the proportion of invoices his Department paid to small and medium-sized enterprises within five days in the 2021-2022 financial year.

Kevin Hollinrake: BEIS publishes quarterly information on the overall percentage of all invoices (including SME invoices) paid within 5 to 30 days on GOV.UK. The BEIS payment performance for the financial year 2021-22 is that 87.24% of invoices were paid within 5 days. The Procurement Bill currently progressing through the Commons contains a Clause (68) that will require all contracting authorities to publish specified information relating to invoice payments. BEIS will ensure that it continues to publish payment information and will comply with the new requirements once they are implemented.

Ordnance Survey: Rights of Way

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the process is for requesting that Ordnance Survey includes a lost public right of way in future map editions.

Kevin Hollinrake: Applications for edits to the Definitive Map of public rights of way (including the addition of lost public rights of way) are made to the relevant order-making authority, typically a Local Authority. If accepted, the edits are made to the Definitive Map by the relevant order-making authority, whereby public rights of way are added and/or removed. The order-making authority should then notify Ordnance Survey (OS) of the edit and on receipt of the notification, OS will cartographically record the changes required and include in future map editions.

Ordnance Survey: Rights of Way

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department holds data on the number of public rights of way footpaths that have been removed from Ordnance Survey maps since 2015.

Kevin Hollinrake: Ordnance Survey (OS) does not hold data which records the number of public rights of way footpaths that have been removed from OS maps since 2015. From the 1 April 2015 to 31 January 2023 OS received 5,585 Orders for changes to the cartographic depiction of public rights of way from the relevant order-making authority, typically a Local Authority. 353 of these Orders included an instruction to make a deletion. It is possible that some of these orders for deletions were accompanied by an instruction to add a public right of way.

Conditions of Employment: Public Bodies

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to create a Single Enforcement Body for Employment Rights.

Kevin Hollinrake: This Government remains committed to workers’ rights and enforcement. We need to be realistic with what we can achieve and the limits of parliamentary time. We are reviewing what this means for the creation of the Single Enforcement Body which would be a significant organisational change . In the meantime, we continue to invest significantly in the existing labour market enforcement bodies and are working with the Director of Labour Market Enforcement to ensure that they are supported to work together as effectively as possible.

Minimum Wage

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many employers were named under the National Minimum Wage Naming Scheme between 1 January and 31 December 2022.

Kevin Hollinrake: To date, we have named around 2,500 employers, covering around £20.8 million in arrears and £24.1 million in penalties. The Government last named 208 employers on 8 December 2021, including some of the UK’s biggest household names.Publicly naming employers who do not comply with the rules remains an important part of our enforcement and compliance toolkit. It clearly demonstrates that it is never acceptable to underpay workers and that employers who do will be held responsible.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Democratic Republic of Congo: Peace Negotiations

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has taken recent steps to help increase involvement in peacebuilding work by young people in eastern Democratic Republic Of Congo.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We are committed to supporting efforts to build stability and reduce violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including through the UN Peacekeeping Mission, MONUSCO, which plays a vital role in the protection of civilians. The UK recognizes the potential young people hold for positive action in eastern DRC. The FCDO is committed to amplifying the voices of young people and putting their interests' front and centre in our policies. We will continue to do more so that children's voices shape policy development on issues that affect them. We use our permanent UN Security Council (UNSC) membership to ensure conflict-related child protection issues remain a key part of UNSC discussions and that UN operations address child protection issues.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Social Media

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of social media on (a) levels of inter-communal hate speech, (b) the spread of misinformation on security and conflict and (c) levels of inter-communal violence in eastern Democratic Republic Of Congo.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We will continue to work with members of the international community to counter hate speech and incitement to violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We work closely with digital and social media platforms to help them identify and take action to mitigate the harmful spread of intimidation online. In addition, we actively support Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and other organisations with research to inform technology companies, partner governments and others about the misuse of online platforms.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Armed Conflict

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the number of (a) children and (b) other young people who were recruited into armed groups in eastern Democratic Republic Of Congo in 2022; and if he will make an assessment of the potential causes of that recruitment.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: On 10 October 2022, a UN report from the Secretary General reported that from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2022, 3,901 children (3,377 boys; 524 girls) were verified as being recruited and used. The UK is firmly committed to ending the recruitment and use of child soldiers and to protecting all children affected by armed conflict. We are working with the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to ensure their approach to community-based disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) and stabilisation includes a focus on the need to provide tailored support to children associated with armed groups.

Famine: Development Aid

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reforming the High-Level Task Force on Preventing Famine by (a) aligning its mandate with the countries identified by the World Food Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as being of the highest concern in their hunger hotspot analysis, (b) expanding its membership, (c) establishing (i) annual action plans, (ii) regular meetings and (iii) accountability processes, (d) supporting (A) fundraising and (B) coordination for (1) anticipatory action and (2) famine resilience, (e) supporting collective diplomatic advocacy to help tackle barriers to famine response, (f) supporting the deployment of international financial institution crisis funds in states at the highest risks of famine, (g) taking action to enable the use of climate adaptation and mitigation funding to help tackle climate-linked famine risks and (h) publishing after-action reports for all states prioritised as being at the highest risk of famine.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK is committed to working with international partners to tackle food insecurity and prevent famine. The UK is committed to working with our partners to mobilise international action on famine prevention. The High-Level Task Force (HLTF) on Preventing Famine has advocated for famine prevention resources and improved access to people in need. The risk of famine remains high in 2023 in multiple contexts. We are working with the UN and other partners to explore ways the HLTF can be reinvigorated to address the risk of famine including by looking at country focus, involvement of a wider range of stakeholders, and tapping into additional sources of finance.

Somaliland: Religious Freedom

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to promote freedom of religion or belief in Somaliland, including for the Christian community.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We consistently urge the Somaliland authorities to uphold human rights. The Prime Minister's Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief raised the issue of religious freedom and due process in the case of detained Christian converts in a letter to the Somaliland Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 22 October 2022. We see the promotion of respect for human rights as essential to peace and stability in the region. We will continue to monitor the human rights situation in Somaliland and to work with human rights defenders across Somaliland to use our collective voice to call for change.

Africa: Non-governmental Organisations

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to work with local NGOs in (a) Mozambique, (b) Kenya and (c) Ethiopia to help ensure they are consulted on the planning and delivery of aid projects funded by the (i) UK and (ii) UN.

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to assist local NGOs in (a) Mozambique, (b) Kenya, (c) Ethiopia and (d) Somalia access (i) UK and (ii) UN funding for humanitarian and peacebuilding projects.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are key partners for the FCDO and they play a central role in delivering UK funded humanitarian support in Mozambique, Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia. We work and consult closely with local NGOs to aid their planning, delivery and ability to access funding.In Ethiopia in 2021 the UK provided US$18 million to the UN's Ethiopia Humanitarian Fund (EHF) which supported a range of international and Ethiopian NGOs. Similarly, the UK-funded 'Building Resilient Communities in Somalia programme has supported a number of Somali NGOs alongside international civil society organisations. In Kenya, UK humanitarian support is delivered via UN agencies but local NGOs are key partners in delivering assistance. In Mozambique the 'Transparency and Accountability for Inclusive Development Programme' provides funding and technical assistance to local civil society organizations to carry out research, advocacy, and work with government to increase transparency, accountability and improve service delivery.

Development Aid

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to increase UK foreign aid for least developed countries ahead of the 5th UN Conference on least developing countries in March 2023.

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to support the UN General Assembly’s plan to offer increased support for Least Developed Countries ahead of the 5th UN Conference on least developing countries taking place in March 2023.

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the UK’s current aid provision to least developed countries.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK is committed to supporting Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and delivering for our partners at the fifth UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDCV). Our International Development Strategy sets out our approach to channel the majority of our Official Development Assistance (ODA) towards low-income countries where there is a clear commitment to progress. It also states that we will continue to support the global goal of providing at least 0.2% of our Gross National Income to Least Developed Countries. We continue to assess our overall offer to LDCs, which includes the provision of ODA, to develop a better, deeper, offer, from expertise to finance and trade.

Undocumented Migrants: Departmental Coordination

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what ongoing discussions officials in his Department have with their counterparts in the Home Office on trends in irregular migration flows.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: FCDO officials hold regular discussions with their counterparts in the Home Office on all aspects of irregular migration. The FCDO takes a "whole of route" approach to addressing the challenges of irregular migration, including coordinated interventions to address root causes, tackle trafficking, increase awareness of the risks of undertaking dangerous journeys and strengthen borders and returns processes.

Afghanistan: Repatriation

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to launch a review of his Department's response to the evacuation of UK nationals from Afghanistan, including the effectiveness of that evacuation.

Leo Docherty: Following the Afghanistan response in August 2021, the FCDO conducted a lessons learning exercise, as is standard practice after a crisis. It focused on the FCDO crisis response systems, structures and ways of working. The FCDO is implementing the recommendations. The Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) conducted a detailed enquiry, to which the then Foreign Secretary and Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon gave oral evidence and responded to requests for written information on the evacuation. A summary of the lessons learned was shared with the FAC in March 2022. The FAC published the Government's response to the FAC's report in July 2022. The FCDO Management Board reviewed progress in January and an update was shared with the FAC on 8 February.

Africa: HIV Infection

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help provide life-saving treatment to children living with HIV in Africa.

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help (a) provide access to universal testing and treatment and (b) supress the virus for all children and adolescents living with HIV in Africa.

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) help ensure access to treatment and care for (i) pregnant and (ii) breastfeeding women and (b) help those women stay in care in Africa.

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support the Government is providing to help support comprehensive, integrated HIV services in Africa.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Government welcomes the Dar Es Salaam Declaration for Action to End AIDS in Children, launched on 1 February. The UK's pledge to the 7th replenishment of the Global Fund will help to save over 1 million lives including by providing medicine for 170,000 mothers to prevent HIV transmission to their babies. We also continue to support UNAIDS to deliver on its mandate to provide effective leadership for the global HIV response and implement the ambitious new Global AIDS Strategy. The UK continues to fund other key international partners, including UNITAID, the Robert Carr Fund, the Global Financing Facility and others on combatting HIV and AIDS in Africa and in children, pregnant women and mothers. These investments are aligned to our commitments in the International Development Strategy on women and girls and global health. Furthermore, our integrated approach ensures that countering HIV is embedded in FCDO's health systems strengthening work and our work to end the preventable deaths of mothers, babies and children, including through our bilateral programming. Our Women's Integrated Sexual Health programme has supported the provision of integrated services in sub-Saharan Africa and the integration of comprehensive sexuality education modules, including HIV prevention, into the national school curriculum in Sierra Leone.

Belarus and Russia: Cryptocurrencies

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reason the Government has not sanctioned cryptocurrency mixers in the context of the (a) Russia, (b) Belarus and (c) wider sanctions' regimes.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The UK Government does not speculate on possible future designations. To do so could reduce the impact of the designations. Since 30 August 2022, UK cryptoasset businesses have been required to report certain information to the Treasury when encountering a designated person, or where they become aware of a breach of financial sanctions regulations. Failure to comply with these reporting obligations is an offence and can result in a criminal prosecution or a fine. The UK is actively engaging internationally through the Financial Action Task Force to ensure that the illicit finance risks represented by cryptoassets are mitigated at a global level.

Passports: British National (Overseas)

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the implications for his policies of the safety of British National (Overseas) visa holders who are required to renew their Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passports at the Chinese Embassy or Consulate.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The UK Government cannot assist with the renewal of other countries' passports in the UK. As outlined in the UK Government's Six-monthly Report on Hong Kong, the UK has an unwavering commitment to Hong Kong and its people and the Government will continue to take very seriously the safety of our valued Hong Kong community in the UK.

Belarus and Russia: Sanctions

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many times have officials from the (a) Department for Transport, (b) HM Treasury and (c) the Department for International Trade have contacted his Department's (i) ministers and (ii) officials on waivers, exceptions and licences in relation to the UK's sanctions regime on (A) Russia and (B) Belarus.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: All sanctions regimes contain a number of statutory exceptions and licensing powers to help to ensure that the effects of sanctions are proportionate and avoid unintended consequences. While the FCDO works closely with other departments across government on sanctions, under sanctions regulations, the FCDO has no formal role in the issue of licences by the UK Government for (A) Russia and (B) Belarus. The FCDO does not maintain a central record of contacts from other departments on those issues.

Passports: British National (Overseas)

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help protect the safety of British National (Overseas) visa holders who are required to renew their Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passports at the Chinese Embassy or Consulate.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The UK Government cannot assist with the renewal of other countries' passports in the UK. As outlined in the UK Government's Six-monthly Report on Hong Kong, the UK has an unwavering commitment to Hong Kong and its people and the Government will continue to take very seriously the safety of our valued Hong Kong community in the UK.

Ethiopia: Peace Negotiations

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support inclusive democracy and transitional justice as part of the peace process in Ethiopia.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Foreign Secretary welcomed the November 2022 peace agreement between the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front, when he visited Ethiopia in December. We further welcome the commitment in the peace agreement to create a comprehensive national transitional justice policy and call for this to be fully implemented as part of the deal. We continue to support the mandate of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia. We are providing £4.5 million to help build the capacity of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission through the UK's Human Rights and Peacebuilding programme, including to enhance its investigative capacity and improve the availability and accessibility of services for survivors of gender-based violence.

Sahel and Sub-Saharan Africa: Defence

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will publish as part of the Integrated Review a UK defence and security strategy for (a) the Sahel and (b) sub-Saharan Africa which includes the implications for the UK's border security and national security.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Integrated Review sets out the Government's approach to security, defence, development and foreign policy across the world, including with African countries. In line with current practice, we have no plans at present to publish a written version of an Integrated Review sub-strategy on the Sahel or sub-Saharan Africa. We continue to share information on the implementation of our approach through various channels including speeches, visits, articles and social media. Our vision in Africa remains to promote British interests through partnerships with African countries and institutions that lead to a freer, safer, more prosperous, healthier and greener continent.

Myanmar: Human Rights

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Myanmar.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The military regime continues to commit human rights violations across the country, including against Rohingya and other ethnic and religious minorities. Since the coup in 2021, the military has cracked down on all opposition, with journalists, medical professionals, civil society actors and faith leaders targeted and imprisoned. On 21 December 2022, the UN Security Council passed the first ever resolution on the situation in Myanmar, led by the UK. The Resolution highlighted the oppression faced by people across Myanmar and demanded an end to violence and the release all those arbitrarily detained. To end the culture of impunity in Myanmar, we have established the Myanmar Witness programme, which collect and preserves evidence of human rights violations for future prosecution.

Haiti: Crimes of Violence

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of Jamaican police and soldiers being placed in Haiti to tackle gang violence in that country.

David Rutley: We note and welcome the reporting last week of comments by Jamaican PM Holness that he would be willing to contribute to the Haitian Government's request to the UN Secretary General for a multinational security assistance deployment to Haiti to support a return to a reasonable level of stability and peace. Such an offer would need to be made and discussed at the UN before any decisions could be taken.

Haiti: Food Supply

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help alleviate the food insecurity situation in Haiti in the context of the UN World Food Programme's request for increased international support in that country.

David Rutley: According to the UN World Food Programme's recent reports food insecurity is affecting 4.7 million people in Haiti. The UK are supporting Haiti through our contributions to the United Nations and other international agencies who have a strong presence on the ground, including the World Bank. The IMF recently approved US$105 million emergency financial assistance under their Rapid Credit Facility Food Shock Window. Through the British Embassy in Port-au-Prince, we remain in regular contact and coordination with these agencies.

Cattle: Brazil

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government is taking steps to work with the Brazilian Government on eradicating cattle-laundering on illegally deforested Amazon land.

David Rutley: Deforestation in the Amazon has a detrimental impact on global climate and environmental conservation goals. Deforestation, which has been happening at a worrying rate for many years, also affects livelihoods, biodiversity and carbon sequestration. The UK welcomes the commitment made by President Lula at COP27 to strengthen Brazil's domestic action on climate change, including achieving zero deforestation by 2030, in line with the Glasgow Leaders Declaration on Forests.

Haiti: Politics and Government

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent reports he has received on the security situation in Haiti.

David Rutley: The UK continues to monitor the deteriorating security situation in Haiti and we encourage international partners to work together to assist in Haitian-led efforts to tackle the underlying causes of gang violence. Through the British Embassy in Port-au-Prince, we remain in regular contact and coordination with the Haitian government and those agencies supporting the security sector. FCDO officials are actively engaged in the UN Security Council on this issue and were briefed by UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for Haiti on 24 January ahead of a Security Council discussion.

Occupied Territories: War Crimes

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will clarify the UK’s position on the International Criminal Court’s investigation into alleged war crimes in the West Bank and Gaza.

David Rutley: The UK is a strong supporter of the International Criminal Court and we respect the independence of the Court. We do not consider that the ICC has jurisdiction in this instance as the UK does not currently recognise Palestinian statehood.

USA: Foreign Relations

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2023 to Question 123927 on Roads: Accidents, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the impact of the death of UK citizens caused by US citizens near US bases on the US-UK relationship; and if he will make a statement.

Leo Docherty: The UK government takes these deaths very seriously. We have taken action to reduce the risks of future accidents. We have ensured improved road signage round the site and in addition, all US staff now have driver familiarisation training and are required to complete the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency theory test on their arrival in the UK. The US-UK relationship remains strong and we are united by decades of unrivalled security and defence cooperation.

Ministry of Defence

Harland and Wolff: Directors

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in reference to his letter to the Chair of the Defence Committee on 24 January 2023, whether the diligence conducted on Team Resolute included the previous business affairs of the board of Harland and Wolff.

Alex Chalk: All appropriate due diligence, consistent with UK public procurement law and rules, was conducted prior to the appointment of Team Resolute.

Defence Equipment: Welding

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment has he made of the level of the UK's reliance on foreign welders for the construction of defence infrastructure and resources.

Alex Chalk: It is generally the responsibility of industry to develop and employ the skilled workforce they need to win and deliver Defence contracts. As set out in the Defence and Security Industrial Strategy, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) recognises that it can help industry by being as transparent as we can about future requirements, giving industry visibility of future programmes and more confidence to plan and invest for the future, including in their workforce. This includes welding and engineer apprentices to secure the long-term skills base as well as today's needs.MOD has published its future pipeline of work through the Equipment Plan, Defence Capability Framework, Acquisition Pipelines, and sector strategies such as the National Shipbuilding Strategy and the Land Industrial Strategy.

Military Bases: Air Conditioning

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February to Question 131390 on Disease Control: whether any (a) training and (b) reception rooms at his Department's bases have VIU Mobile air purifiers.

Alex Chalk: The Ministry of Defence has no centrally held records of direct purchases of VIU Mobile air purifiers. Each establishment across the Department would need to be consulted at local level to confirm the presence of such units, together with their location. As such the requested information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February to Q132577 on Afghanistan: Refugees, for how many of the applicants awaiting decisions who (a) have had requests for information from his Department, (b) have sent information in response to such a request and (c) have no requests for information from his Department outstanding and on whose application his Department has made an eligibility decision for family members included in the application his Department made an application to the Home Office under Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy immigration rules in (i) 2021 and (ii) 2022; and for how many of the applicants awaiting decisions where (A) no request for information is outstanding and (B) an eligibility decision has been made on family members his Department made such an application to the Home Office in each of those years.

James Heappey: Taking each of the hon. Member's questions in turn: (A) as of 3 February 2023, approximately 33,000 applications require an initial request for information (RFI); (B) due to data constraints we cannot share the number of applicants who have replied to RFI, or (C) the number of applicants with outstanding RFIs. Providing responses to B and C would require manually accessing every open application on our system.Regarding family members, an ARAP eligible individual's dependants (spouse/partner and biological children under the age of 18) are eligible for relocation to the UK subject to verification checks. The principal applicant's ARAP eligibility also allows them to request additional family members meeting certain criteria be considered for relocation under the Additional Family Members (AFM) process.Finally, ARAP eligibility decisions are taken by the Ministry of Defence (MOD). Where the MOD finds Afghan nationals eligible, we make an application to the Home Office on their behalf. The process is governed by Home Office immigration rules.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Recruitment

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department has spent on headhunters in each of the last three years.

Mr Alister Jack: The Scotland Office has not spent money on headhunters in any of the last three years.

Scotland Office: Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill (SP)

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many meetings the Scotland Office had with the Scottish Government on the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland Bill) prior to the Section 35 order being invoked.

Mr Alister Jack: The UK Government raised a number of concerns relating to the impact of the Scottish Government’s proposals with the Scottish Government, in advance of the legislation passing in the Scottish Parliament. UK government officials engaged with their Scottish counterparts through the Bill’s passage. The Minister for Women and Equalities wrote to and met with the Cabinet Secretary while the Bill was still in the Scottish Parliament, outlining her concerns with the GRR Bill as it stood. It is now for the Scottish Government to bring forward a bill that addresses the adverse effects as set out in the Statement of Reasons. The Scotland Act 1998 specifically provides for a reconsideration stage in the Scottish Parliament for these circumstances.

Department for International Trade

Department for International Trade: Conditions of Employment

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if they will take steps to (a) publish an equality impact assessment and (b) consult with trade unions when proposing new HR policies for their Department; and if they will make a statement.

Nigel Huddleston: The Department for International Trade (DIT) and UK Export Finance (UKEF) conduct Equality Impact Assessments (EQIA) as part of internal process where there is anticipated to be a people-related impact of change to policy, process, or organisational design. These are conducted through engagement with departmental networks and Trade Unions. EQIA documentation is for internal use and therefore is not routinely published. As part of internal processes, DIT and UKEF both consult with Departmental Trade Unions when introducing new policies or incorporating major changes to existing policies and guidance.

Economic Cooperation: USA

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether her Department is seeking further state-level trade and economic memorandums of understanding with US states; and if she will make a statement.

Nigel Huddleston: The Government sees huge potential to grow trade with US states by promoting UK business, tackling barriers, and attracting investment.Building on Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) concluded last year with Indiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina, the Government is actively engaging with further states, including Oklahoma, Utah, Texas, and California.Signature is just the start. Using MoUs to deliver results for business, the UK has already completed working groups with Indiana and North Carolina, which highlighted opportunities in government procurement and offshore wind respectively. The Government will hold expanded sessions with each state involving UK industry later this year.

Women and Equalities

Racial Discrimination: Ethnic Groups

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the statement by the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent published on 27 January 2023.

Maria Caulfield: The Government will formally respond to the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent once their full report has been published later this year.We are pleased that the Working Group recognised as good practice our ground-breaking Inclusive Britain strategy, which is focussed on closing outcome gaps between people from different ethnic backgrounds, and our world-leading use of data.We reject, however, the majority of the Working Group’s preliminary findings and the suggestion that racism in the UK is structural, institutional and systemic.We are proud that the UK is an open, tolerant and welcoming country but we are not complacent and do recognise some people experience racism in Britain. We are very clear this has no place in our society and must be rooted out.The data shows that in recent years we have made great strides in closing the gaps in racial and ethnic disparities in a number of critical areas. Our work continues a-pace to deliver the 74 actions in our Inclusive Britain strategy - which span the areas of education, health, crime and policing, technology and the workplace.

Department for Transport

Department for Transport: Conditions of Employment

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if they will take steps to (a) publish an equality impact assessment and (b) consult with trade unions when proposing new HR policies for their Department; and if they will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Transport routinely consults its trade unions when proposing new HR policies and conducts equality impact assessments in line with the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duty which are shared with the unions as appropriate.

Department for Transport: Vehicles

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) fossil fuel-, (b) electric and (c) hybrid-powered road-legal vehicles his Department has purchased in the last 24 months.

Jesse Norman: The requested information is provided below. Organisational Unit(a) fossil fuel(b) electric(c) hybrid-poweredCentral Department - Government Car Service02015Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency0154Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency2602Maritime and Coastguard Agency12194Vehicle Certification Agency170

Driving Licences: Gender

Rachel Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of  30 January 2023 to Question 132588 on Driving Licences: Gender, if he will take steps to ensure that (a) driving licence applications replace the word gender with the word sex and (b) the driving licence systems record male and female biological sex as essential categories for all purposes.

Mr Richard Holden: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is working to ensure consistency in the way such information is captured across its driving licence application services.

Shipping: Recycling

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to work with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to facilitate the recycling of marine and leisure vessels as part of the Clean Maritime Plan.

Mr Richard Holden: The Department intends to publish an updated version of the Clean Maritime Plan in 2023. This update will set out the next steps to decarbonising the maritime sector.

Buses: Exhaust Emissions

Iain Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to allocate the next tranche of funding under the Zero Emission Bus Regional Area scheme; and whether his Department is considering changes to the structure of the scheme (a) in general and (b) in order to incentivise local authorities to place bus orders more quickly once they have been allocated funding.

Mr Richard Holden: We have funded an estimated 3,378 Zero Emission Buses across the UK so far. The Department will provide details on future funding for ZEBs in due course, taking into account the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement.

Bus Services

Iain Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to Q417 of the oral evidence by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Roads, Buses and Places to the Transport Committee on 29 June 2022, HC 161, when his Department plans to publish a call for evidence on municipal bus companies.

Mr Richard Holden: The Department will publish a call for evidence later this year.

Shipping: Exhaust Emissions

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what timeline his Department is working towards for the 2023 Clean Maritime Plan.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Maritime UK on the refresh of the Clean Maritime Plan.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the report by Maritime UK entitled Maritime UK's programme for Government, published on 10 October 2022, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing the recommendation in that report to create a cross-department forum bringing together the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and his Department to increase coordination on energy and infrastructure matters, including the Clean Maritime Plan.

Mr Richard Holden: The Department intends to publish a revised Clean Maritime Plan in 2023. This plan will set out the next steps to decarbonising the maritime sector. In development of the Clean Maritime Plan, the Government regularly engages with the maritime industry, including Maritime UK. We welcome the recommendation to engage cross-government on the development of the Clean Maritime Plan.

Buses: Exhaust Emissions

Iain Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2023 to Question 122440 on Buses: Exhaust Emissions, whether he plans to publish the results from his Department's monitoring and evaluation project for the Zero Emission Bus Regional Area scheme.

Mr Richard Holden: We will publish the first report from the Department’s monitoring and evaluation project for the ZEBRA scheme, covering process evaluation of the pre-implementation phase of the project in due course. We will publish a final report at the end of the project.

Bus Services: Visual Impairment

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of bus stop bypasses on blind and partially-sighted people.

Mr Richard Holden: Provision of traffic management measures such as floating bus stops is a matter for local authorities. The Department provides design advice on floating bus stops in Local Transport Note 1/20: Cycle Infrastructure Design, which highlights the potential issues and stresses the need for early engagement on design with relevant groups, particularly those representing disabled people.The Department is working with Transport Scotland, who are leading on research into accessible public realm, including bus stop bypasses. The outputs will inform recommendations about designs and good practice advice, and the project is scheduled to complete later this year.

Bus Services: Rural Areas

Iain Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for how long each Rural Mobility Fund demand responsive transport pilot will last; when (a) interim and (b) final findings from these pilots will be published; and what form those findings will take.

Mr Richard Holden: The Rural Mobility Fund demand responsive transport pilots are planned to last between two and five years from the point of launch. They have all launched at different times, influenced by multiple factors such as vehicle availability and resourcing, so the end of each trial period may vary from the original timeframes envisaged. We expect to publish interim findings in the first half of 2023, further findings in late 2023/early 2024, and the final findings in 2025 in the form of written reports. However, the exact timings and dissemination approach will be determined closer to the time.

Bus Services

Iain Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to evidence given by the Campaign for Better Transport to the Transport Committee on the National Bus Strategy: one year on, published on 20 April 2022, if he will publish the 2021 research report prepared for his Department by the Campaign for Better Transport on the capacity and capability of local transport authorities in respect of bus services planning and delivery.

Mr Richard Holden: The report will be published in due course.

Public Transport: Tickets

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) train and (b) bus operators on restoring the acceptance of (i) the Key Card and (ii) other forms of electronic ticketing.

Huw Merriman: Following the publication of the National Bus Strategy, my Department continues to work with representatives from the bus industry and local authorities to ensure they have the right technical, commercial, marketing and governance arrangements to design and deliver smart, multi-operator bus ticketing. Schemes may make use of existing smartcard and smartphone ticketing. However, the Strategy recognises many users will wish to use their contactless bank cards, with fare capping in place. My Department also works with and encourages the wider rail industry to further roll out advances in ticketing and retailing to make travel more convenient.

Shipping: Irish Sea

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to consult on an extension to the existing North Sea Emission Control Area to cover the Irish Sea.

Mr Richard Holden: As set out in the Clean Maritime Plan published in 2021, we have committed to consulting on options for extending the North Sea Emissions Control Area beyond its current geographical limits or establishing new, geographically distinct, Emissions Control Areas around the UK coast. We plan to launch a call for evidence later this year.

Shipping: Recycling

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he plans to take with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to facilitate the recycling of marine and leisure vessels as part of the Clean Maritime Plan.

Mr Richard Holden: The Department intends to publish an updated version of the Clean Maritime Plan in 2023. This update will set out the next steps to decarbonising the maritime sector.

Acceleration Unit

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the achievements of the Acceleration Unit; and what the workplan is for that unit.

Mr Richard Holden: The Secretary of State receives regular updates on the work of the Acceleration Unit and achievements are assessed on the basis that Acceleration Unit was established with the overall objective to speed up the delivery of infrastructure projects and the implementation of policy initiatives. The Acceleration Unit performs valuable work at the Department for Transport and has oversight of the departmental contribution to cross-Whitehall activity in relation to acceleration, particularly work on reforming the planning system, utilities, and how DfT can use improved governance to efficiently deliver projects.

Gatwick Express Railway Line

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect on (a) tourism in Brighton and (b) travel via Gatwick Airport of levels of reliability of the Gatwick Express from London Victoria to Brighton.

Jesse Norman: I recognise the impact reliability has on commuters and leisure travellers. From a tourism perspective, we have seen a strong recovery on the Brighton route, and at Gatwick Airport. Performance in recent weeks has unfortunately been impacted by a number of incidents including flooding, infrastructure issues and trespass incidents, as well as industrial action. Improving performance is a key area of focus for Govia Thameslink Railway, Network Rail and the Department.

Railways: Fares

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an estimate of the potential impact of increasing the level of the fine for not having a valid rail ticket from £20 to £100 on public revenues from those fines.

Huw Merriman: Fare evasion is estimated by the Rail Delivery Group to costs the railway industry £240 million per year. The increase in the penalty fare is designed to act as a better deterrent against fare evasion and reduce this revenue loss.

Diesel Vehicles

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many diesel cars were registered in (a) East Midlands, (b) East of England, (c) London, (d) North East, (e) North West, (f) South East, (g) South West, (h) West Midlands and (i) Yorkshire and the Humber in (i) 2017 and (ii) 2021.

Jesse Norman: The number of diesel cars registered for the first time in regions in England during 2017 and 2021 is outlined below: Region 20172021East Midlands77,22917,427East of England99,97416,714London56,2827,595North East26,4525,423North West84,50925,114South East241,81841,138South West116,25520,248West Midlands146,54216,744Yorkshire and the Humber87,68915,146 Source: DfT Statistics based on DVLA data.

Parking: Pedestrian Areas

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2021 to Question 10598 on Parking: Pedestrian Areas, when he plans to publish a response to the Department’s pavement parking consultation; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the consultation on the progress of the Pavement Parking Bill.

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2021 to Question 10598 on Parking: Pedestrian Areas, when he plans to publish a response to the Department’s pavement parking consultation, which closed on 22 November 2020.

Mr Richard Holden: Local councils already have powers to regulate pavement parking if necessary. We are reviewing the outcome of the consultation and the various options for tackling pavement parking in order to ensure that local authorities have the most appropriate tools at their disposal. We will publish the formal consultation response and announce next steps as soon as possible. There is no future stage currently scheduled for the Pavement Parking Bill that was introduced into the House of Lords on 20 January 2020.

Department for Education

Education: Birth Certificates

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish a list of the circumstances in which a person is required by law to produce or show their birth certificate in an education setting.

Robert Halfon: The Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011, and associated student support regulations, require higher education students to provide information requested by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. For the first year of their course, undergraduate students that apply to Student Finance England for student support are asked to provide proof of identity on their application form by including details from their passport. Student Finance England share the passport details of the applicant with HM Passport Office to confirm that they are valid. If a student does not have a valid, current passport, they are asked to send a photocopy of their UK birth or adoption certificate to Student Finance England. There are other circumstances where an educational institution may request evidence for verification purposes. This could include, but is not limited to, a birth certificate in order to prove identity, date of birth or the right to work in the UK.

Music: Education

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the 2022 National Plan for Music Education and prescribed geographic areas for new Hub Lead Organisations, whether individual county-wide upper tier authorities may act as a Local Authority Hub without having to join with other local authorities to create a hub that would cover multiple local authority areas.

Nick Gibb: In June 2022, the Government published a National Plan for Music Education. The plan sets out the Government’s priorities until 2030 for music education for children and young people, including plans to strengthen the success of Music Hubs. The plan also builds on the Model Music Curriculum published in March 2021, setting out how pupils can progress in music from Key Stages 1 to 3, including on instrumental teaching.Music Hubs are partnerships, covering one or multiple Local Authority areas, co-ordinated by a hub lead organisation and are made up of schools and academy trusts, Local Authorities, music and wider arts and education organisations, community or youth organisations, and more. They were established in 2012, with direct funding from the Department that had previously been awarded to Local Authority Music Services. While no longer directly receiving funding, some Music Services do currently serve as lead organisations in addition to their other responsibilities. The Department has committed £79 million per year for the Music Hubs programme over three years, up to and including 2025.The Department’s intention is that the current model of how Music Hubs operate will transition to one where more Hubs will cover multiple Local Authority areas. This reflects the increase of formal partnerships across England over the last decade.These Music Hub lead organisations will be in place for children and young people in September 2024. Arts Council England has consulted with potential bidders regarding prescribed geographical areas. All feedback will be used to inform next steps and further information will be communicated to all potential bidders later this year.

Schools: Harrow West

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Harrow West constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Leeds North East constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Harrow East constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C, and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Pinner constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Ruislip constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency had at least one construction element in condition grade (a) C and (b) D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have received funding and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools had at least one construction element in condition grade (a) C and (b) D in Oxford East constituency when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have received and (ii) expect to receive in the next two years funding from the School Rebuilding Programme.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Hornsey and Wood Green constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Nick Gibb: The Condition Data Collection (CDC) is one of the largest and most comprehensive data collection programmes in the UK’s public sector. It collected data on the building condition of government funded schools in England. It provides a robust evidence base to enable the Department to target capital funding for maintaining and rebuilding school buildings.The key, high level findings of the CDC programme were published in May 2021 in the ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey: Key Findings’ report. This is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/989912/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.Individual CDC reports have been shared with every school and their responsible body to use alongside their existing condition surveys to plan maintenance schedules and investment plans. The Department plans to publish detailed school level CDC data. The data is being prepared and will be published as soon as possible.Well maintained, safe school buildings are a priority for the Department. Our funding is directed both to maintaining the condition of the school estate and rebuilding schools. The Department has allocated over £13 billion for improving the condition of schools since 2015, including £1.8 billion committed this financial year.The ten year School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) is condition led. 400 of the 500 available places on the programme have been provisionally allocated. A list of these schools and the methodology used to select them is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.The following table shows the constituencies specified that have schools or colleges selected for the SRP:Parliamentary constituency Schools selected for SRPOxford EastOxford Spires Academy, announced December 2022Leeds North EastJohn Jamieson School, announced December 2022Harrow EastThe Sacred Heart Language College, announced December 2022The 239 schools announced in December 2022 will enter delivery at a rate of approximately 50 per year, over a five year period from 2023. The Department is currently undertaking due diligence on these schools prior to scheduling them, with schools prioritised according to the condition of their buildings, readiness to proceed, and efficiency of delivery. The scope and funding for each project will be confirmed following detailed feasibility studies and condition surveys of buildings.Where a school identifies significant safety issues with a building, that cannot be managed within local resources, the Department considers additional support on a case-by-case basis. This includes applications for Urgent Capital Support (UCS) from eligible institutions. Schools eligible for Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) can apply for UCS where there are urgent health and safety issues that threaten school closure and cannot wait until the next CIF bidding round.

Cantonese Language: GCSE

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the relevance of Putonghua's grammar in GCSE Cantonese oral assessment on its marking scheme.

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of recruiting Chinese language teachers from Hong Kong to be GCSE examiners.

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she has made an assessment of the suitability of the GCSE Chinese, Cantonese stream, syllabus on students from Hong Kong.

Nick Gibb: The Department’s published GCSE subject content for modern foreign languages (MFL) sets out the knowledge, understanding and skills required for these GCSEs.The MFL subject content does not set out the specific languages that exam boards can offer. Instead, exam boards decide which languages they wish to offer and develop detailed specifications in these languages that meet both the Department’s subject content requirements and Ofqual’s separate requirements for MFL qualifications. AQA offers a GCSE in Chinese (spoken Mandarin) and Pearson offers a GCSE in Chinese (spoken Mandarin/spoken Cantonese).Exam boards are responsible for setting out the specific grammar requirements in the specifications for each of the languages they offer. These grammar requirements should represent a level of challenge and breadth that is comparable to the grammar requirements for French, German, and Spanish. These requirements are set out in the Department’s subject content. The specification must be accredited by Ofqual before it can be taught in schools. Exam boards are also responsible for recruiting examiners.

Schools: Dover

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Dover constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Erewash constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Filton and Bradley Stoke constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Finchley and Golders Green constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Gelding constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Gloucester constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Gravesham constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Hastings and Rye constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Hendon constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in High Peak constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Ipswich constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Keighley constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Kensington constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Leigh constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Lincoln constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Loughborough constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Milton Keynes North constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Milton Keynes South constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Northampton North constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D, when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Nick Gibb: The Condition Data Collection (CDC) is one of the largest and most comprehensive data collection programmes in the UK’s public sector. It collected data on the building condition of government funded schools in England. It provides a robust evidence base to enable the Department to target capital funding for maintaining and rebuilding school buildings.The key, high level findings of the CDC programme were published in May 2021 in the ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey: Key Findings’ report. This is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/989912/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.Individual CDC reports have been shared with every school and their responsible body to use alongside their existing condition surveys to plan maintenance schedules and investment plans. The Department plans to publish detailed school level CDC data. The Department is still preparing the data and will publish it as soon as possible.Well maintained, safe school buildings are a priority for the Department. Our funding is directed both to maintaining the condition of the school estate and rebuilding schools. The Department has allocated over £13 billion for improving the condition of schools since 2015, including £1.8 billion committed this financial year.The ten year School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) is condition led. 400 of the 500 available places on the programme have been provisionally allocated. A list of these schools and the methodology used to select them is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.The following table shows the constituencies specified that have schools or colleges selected for the SRP:Parliamentary constituency Schools selected for SRPDoverSt Mary's Catholic Primary School (announced July 2021)ErewashWilsthorpe School (announced February 2021)Friesland School (announced July 2022)Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy (announced December 2022)Kirk Hallam Community Academy (announced December 2022)Filton and Bradley StokePatchway Community School (announced July 2021)GloucesterRibston Hall High School (announced December 2022)Moat Primary School (announced December 2022)The Willow Primary Academy (announced December 2022)GraveshamSaint George's Church of England School (announced December 2022)Rosherville Church of England Academy (announced December 2022)HendonMenorah Foundation School (announced December 2022)High PeakSt Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy (announced December 2022)KeighleyIlkley Grammar School (announced July 2022)KensingtonThe Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School (announced December 2022)LeighFred Longworth High School (announced February 2021)St Thomas' CofE Primary School, Leigh (announced February 2021)Golborne High School (announced December 2022)LincolnLincoln Castle Academy (announced December 2022)LoughboroughRawlins Academy (announced December 2022)De Lisle College Loughborough Leicestershire (announced December 2022)Lancaster and FleetwoodLancaster Royal Grammar School (announced December 2022)Castle View Primary Academy (announced December 2022) The 239 schools announced in December 2022 will enter delivery at a rate of approximately 50 per year, over a five year period from 2023. The Department is currently undertaking due diligence on these schools prior to scheduling them, with schools prioritised according to the condition of their buildings, readiness to proceed, and efficiency of delivery. The scope and funding for each project will be confirmed following detailed feasibility studies and condition surveys of buildings.Where a school identifies significant safety issues with a building, that cannot be managed within local resources, the Department considers additional support on a case-by-case basis. This includes applications for Urgent Capital Support (UCS) from eligible institutions. Schools eligible for Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) can apply for UCS where there are urgent health and safety issues that threaten school closure and cannot wait until the next CIF bidding round.

Schools: Huddersfield

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Huddersfield constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (a) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (b) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Rochdale constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (a) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (b) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Leeds East constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (a) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (b) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Nick Gibb: The Condition Data Collection (CDC) is one of the largest and most comprehensive data collection programmes in the UK’s public sector. It collected data on the building condition of government funded schools in England. It provides a robust evidence base to enable the Department to target capital funding for maintaining and rebuilding school buildings.The key, high level findings of the CDC programme were published in May 2021 in the ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey: Key Findings’ report. This is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/989912/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.Individual CDC reports have been shared with every school and their responsible body to use alongside their existing condition surveys to plan maintenance schedules and investment plans. The Department plans to publish detailed school level CDC data. The Department is still preparing the data and will publish it as soon as possible.Well maintained, safe school buildings are a priority for the Department. Our funding is directed both to maintaining the condition of the school estate and rebuilding schools. The Department has allocated over £13 billion for improving the condition of schools since 2015, including £1.8 billion committed this financial year.The ten year School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) is condition led. 400 of the 500 available places on the programme have been provisionally allocated. A list of these schools and the methodology used to select them is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.The following table shows the constituencies specified that have schools or colleges selected for the SRP:Parliamentary constituency Schools selected for SRPHuddersfieldGreenhead College, announced February 2021RochdaleKingsway Park High School, announced February 2021 Littleborough Community Primary School, announced February 2021The 239 schools announced in December 2022 will enter delivery at a rate of approximately 50 per year, over a five year period from 2023. The Department is currently undertaking due diligence on these schools prior to scheduling them, with schools prioritised according to the condition of their buildings, readiness to proceed, and efficiency of delivery. The scope and funding for each project will be confirmed following detailed feasibility studies and condition surveys of buildings.Where a school identifies significant safety issues with a building, that cannot be managed within local resources, the Department considers additional support on a case-by-case basis. This includes applications for Urgent Capital Support (UCS) from eligible institutions. Schools eligible for Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) can apply for UCS where there are urgent health and safety issues that threaten school closure and cannot wait until the next CIF bidding round.

Schools: Ealing Central and Acton

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Ealing Central and Acton constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D, when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Nick Gibb: The Condition Data Collection (CDC) is one of the largest and most comprehensive data collection programmes in the UK’s public sector. It collected data on the building condition of government funded schools in England. It provides a robust evidence base to enable the Department to target capital funding for maintaining and rebuilding school buildings.The key, high level findings of the CDC programme were published in May 2021 in the ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey: Key Findings’ report. This is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/989912/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.Individual CDC reports have been shared with every school and their responsible body to use alongside their existing condition surveys to plan maintenance schedules and investment plans. The Department plans to publish detailed school level CDC data. The Department is still preparing the data and will publish it as soon as possible.Well maintained, safe school buildings are a priority for the Department. Our funding is directed both to maintaining the condition of the school estate and rebuilding schools. The Department has allocated over £13 billion for improving the condition of schools since 2015, including £1.8 billion committed this financial year.The ten year School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) is condition led. 400 of the 500 available places on the programme have been provisionally allocated. A list of these schools and the methodology used to select them is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.Of the 400 so far selected, none are in Ealing Central and Acton constituency.The 239 schools announced in December 2022 will enter delivery at a rate of approximately 50 per year, over a five year period from 2023. The Department is currently undertaking due diligence on these schools prior to scheduling them, with schools prioritised according to the condition of their buildings, readiness to proceed, and efficiency of delivery. The scope and funding for each project will be confirmed following detailed feasibility studies and condition surveys of buildings.Where a school identifies significant safety issues with a building, that cannot be managed within local resources, the Department considers additional support on a case-by-case basis. This includes applications for Urgent Capital Support (UCS) from eligible institutions. Schools eligible for Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) can apply for UCS where there are urgent health and safety issues that threaten school closure and cannot wait until the next CIF bidding round.

Engineering: Vacancies

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the (a) number of vacancies and (b) level of skill shortages in (i) aeronautical, (ii) chemical, (iii) civil, (iv) computer, (v) electrical and (vi) mechanical engineering.

Robert Halfon: The Employer Skills Survey (ESS) run by the department captures vacancies, skills gaps, and skill-shortage vacancies. In its current format, the ESS is not able to provide representative data for this granular level of sector.

Teachers: Training

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of teachers recruited into teacher training in the last (a) one, (b) two and (c) five years.

Nick Gibb: In 2022/23, the Department has recruited 23,224 new entrants starting postgraduate initial teacher training (ITT). This is a 23% decrease from 30,093 in 2021/22. The percentage of the postgraduate ITT target achieved for all subjects, secondary and primary, is 71%. This is a decrease of 26 percentage points, down from 97% in 2021/22. In 2018/19, the Department recruited 29,215 new entrants starting postgraduate ITT. 91% of the postgraduate ITT target was achieved.Teacher recruitment has been challenging for several years. As expected, the unprecedented increase in new entrants to ITT in 2020/21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic has declined over the past two years. The graduate and general labour markets became more competitive and pay has risen in competing sectors, especially in priority science, technology, engineering, and mathematics subjects.The Department is taking action to improve recruitment. £181 million is available in bursaries and scholarships to attract trainee teachers in high priority subjects for the 2023/24 academic year. This represents a £52 million increase on the current academic year. This includes bursaries worth up to £27,000 and scholarships worth up to £29,000 to encourage trainees to apply to train in key subjects such as chemistry, computing, mathematics, and physics. In addition, a Levelling Up Premium worth up to £3,000 tax free annually is available for mathematics, physics, chemistry, and computing teachers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools during the first five years of their careers. This will support recruitment and retention of specialist teachers in the subjects, schools, and areas that need them most. ​ ​The Department is introducing a relocation premium for overseas nationals coming here to train or teach languages and physics. This will help with visas and other expenses. The Department will also extend bursary and scholarship eligibility to all international trainee teachers in languages and physics.

Schools: Leeds West

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Leeds West constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (a) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (b) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Chesterfield constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (a) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (b) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Stockton North constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (a) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (b) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (a) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (b) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Brentford and Isleworth constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (a) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (b) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Manchester, Gorton constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (a) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (b) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Simon Lightwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Wakefield constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D when that data was collated; and which of those schools (a) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (b) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Nick Gibb: The Condition Data Collection (CDC) is one of the largest and most comprehensive data collection programmes in the UK’s public sector. It collected data on the building condition of government funded schools in England. It provides a robust evidence base to enable the Department to target capital funding for maintaining and rebuilding school buildings.The key, high level findings of the CDC programme were published in May 2021 in the ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey: Key Findings’ report. This is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/989912/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.Individual CDC reports have been shared with every school and their responsible body to use alongside their existing condition surveys to plan maintenance schedules and investment plans. The Department plans to publish detailed school level CDC data. The Department is still preparing the data and will publish it as soon as possible.Well maintained, safe school buildings are a priority for the Department. Our funding is directed both to maintaining the condition of the school estate and rebuilding schools. The Department has allocated over £13 billion for improving the condition of schools since 2015, including £1.8 billion committed this financial year.The ten year School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) is condition led. 400 of the 500 available places on the programme have been provisionally allocated. A list of these schools and the methodology used to select them is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.The following table shows the constituencies specified that have schools or colleges selected for the SRP:Parliamentary constituency Schools selected for SRPWakefieldOssett Academy and Sixth Form College, announced December 2022Stockton NorthSt Joseph's Catholic Primary School, announced July 2021 St Paul's Catholic Primary School, announced July 2021The 239 schools announced in December 2022 will enter delivery at a rate of approximately 50 per year, over a five year period from 2023. The Department is currently undertaking due diligence on these schools prior to scheduling them, with schools prioritised according to the condition of their buildings, readiness to proceed, and efficiency of delivery. The scope and funding for each project will be confirmed following detailed feasibility studies and condition surveys of buildings.Where a school identifies significant safety issues with a building, that cannot be managed within local resources, the Department considers additional support on a case-by-case basis. This includes applications for Urgent Capital Support (UCS) from eligible institutions. Schools eligible for Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) can apply for UCS where there are urgent health and safety issues that threaten school closure and cannot wait until the next CIF bidding round.

Schools: Canterbury

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2022 to Question 37614 on Schools: Buildings, which schools in Canterbury constituency had at least one construction element in (a) condition grade C and (b) condition grade D, when that data was collated; and which of those schools (i) have already received funding from the School Rebuilding Programme and (ii) are expected to receive funding from the School Rebuilding Programme in the next two years.

Nick Gibb: The Condition Data Collection (CDC) is one of the largest and most comprehensive data collection programmes in the UK’s public sector. It collected data on the building condition of government funded schools in England. It provides a robust evidence base to enable the Department to target capital funding for maintaining and rebuilding school buildings.The key, high level findings of the CDC programme were published in May 2021 in the ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey: Key Findings’ report. This is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/989912/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.Individual CDC reports have been shared with every school and their responsible body to use alongside their existing condition surveys to plan maintenance schedules and investment plans. The Department plans to publish detailed school level CDC data. The Department is still preparing the data and will publish it as soon as possible.Well maintained, safe school buildings are a priority for the Department. Our funding is directed both to maintaining the condition of the school estate and rebuilding schools. The Department has allocated over £13 billion for improving the condition of schools since 2015, including £1.8 billion committed this financial year.The ten year School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) is condition led. 400 of the 500 available places on the programme have been provisionally allocated. A list of these schools and the methodology used to select them is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.Canterbury constituency has had two schools selected as part of the SRP. These are St Anselm's Catholic School, Canterbury, (announced December 2022) and Pilgrims' Way Primary School (announced July 2021)The 239 schools announced in December 2022 will enter delivery at a rate of approximately 50 per year, over a five year period from 2023. The Department is currently undertaking due diligence on these schools prior to scheduling them, with schools prioritised according to the condition of their buildings, readiness to proceed, and efficiency of delivery. The scope and funding for each project will be confirmed following detailed feasibility studies and condition surveys of buildings.Where a school identifies significant safety issues with a building, that cannot be managed within local resources, the Department considers additional support on a case-by-case basis. This includes applications for Urgent Capital Support (UCS) from eligible institutions. Schools eligible for Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) can apply for UCS where there are urgent health and safety issues that threaten school closure and cannot wait until the next CIF bidding round.

Physical Education

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Education and Training Inspectorate's thematic evaluation of physical education provision in primary schools, published October 2022, what discussions he has had with the Education and Training Inspectorate on children receiving two hours of weekly physical education.

Nick Gibb: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.The Education and Training Inspectorate report covers schools in Northern Ireland and Ministers have not had discussions with them on the topic. Ofsted is currently undertaking research in schools across England to explore the quality of PE and Sport. Ofsted will publish a subject report outlining its findings later this year.

Training

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people in traineeships were in receipt of (a) Universal Credit and (b) Jobseeker's Allowance in each of the last 12 months for which data is available.

Robert Halfon: The table below sets out the data the Department holds on the number of trainees who started a Traineeship that month who were recorded as claiming either Universal Credit or Job Seekers Allowance. The data is for the2021/22 academic year, which is the last 12 months of full reporting available. Volumes are rounded to the nearest 10. MonthAug 21Sept 21Oct 21Nov 21Dec 21Jan 22Feb 22March 22April 22May 22June 22July 22Universal Credit280400330450150190280290270370230180Job Seekers’ Allowance20202050101010101010low20 It is not mandatory for providers to state whether a trainee is in receipt of benefits when completing the Individualised Learner Record, nor is there a requirement for those claiming benefits to declare this information when enrolling on a Traineeship. This data may not be fully representative of the numbers of trainees in receipt of benefits.

Pupil Exclusions: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussion she has had with the Department for Education in Northern Ireland on suspensions in high schools.

Nick Gibb: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.The Department supports head teachers in using suspension and permanent exclusion as a sanction where warranted as part of creating calm, safe and supportive environments where pupils and staff can work in safety and are respected.Schools in England should only use permanent exclusion as a last resort.The Department’s ministers and officials engage with counterparts in the devolved governments on a range of issues of mutual interest. Ministerial engagement includes the UK Education Ministers Council, which meets on a regular basis. Whilst my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has not had any discussions with the Department of Education in Northern Ireland on suspensions in high schools, her officials and Ministers would respond positively to any invitation from the devolved governments to discuss this issue.

Teachers: Termination of Employment

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the reasons for teachers leaving that profession in the last (a) one, (b) two and (c) five years.

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of teachers leaving the profession in the last (a) one, (b) two and (c) five years.

Nick Gibb: Information on the number of teachers leaving state-funded schools in England, and their reason for leaving, is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/ea6bb71b-3857-447a-2d4c-08dafaf734a0.Based on the latest available data, 36,262 full time equivalent teachers left the state funded sector in 2020/21. This represents less than 1 in 10, or 8.1%, of all qualified teachers. This is up by 4,013 since 2019/20, but overall, the rate of teachers leaving the profession has decreased in the last five years from 10.6% in 2016/17, to 8.1% in 2020/21.

Schools: Sports

Kim Leadbeater: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2023 to Question 119236 on Schools: Inspections, what recent estimate she has made of when Ofsted will publish its report into the quality of PE and sport within schools; and what the remit of this report will be.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to the hon. Member for Batley and Spen, and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Teachers: Labour Turnover and Recruitment

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to (a) recruit and (b) retain teachers in (i) Liverpool, Walton constituency, (b) Liverpool and (c) England.

Nick Gibb: The number of teachers remains high, with more than 465,000 full time equivalent (FTE) teachers working in state-funded schools across the country, 24,000 more than in 2010. There are over 4,200 FTE teachers in Liverpool, an increase of 180 since 2010, and 62,500 teachers in the North West, an increase of over 2,200 since 2010.The Department announced a £181 million financial incentives package for those starting initial teacher training (ITT) in the 2023/24 academic year. The Department is providing bursaries worth up to £27,000 and scholarships worth up to £29,000 to encourage trainees to apply to train in key secondary subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing. The Department has expanded the offer to international trainees in physics and languages.Additionally, the Department provides a Levelling Up Premium, worth up to £3,000, for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who work in disadvantaged schools nationally, including within Education Investment Areas (EIAs). The Department provide the highest payments to teachers in eligible schools in EIAs. In Merseyside, six local authorities are EIAs. There are six schools in the Liverpool Walton constituency eligible for the Levelling Up Premium, as well as 59 schools in the Liverpool area, and 97 schools in Merseyside. The eligibility criteria and list of eligible schools is on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/levelling-up-premium-payments-for-teachers.The Department will deliver 500,000 teacher training and development opportunities by the end of 2024, giving all teachers and school leaders access to world class, evidence based training and professional development at every stage of their career. To support retention in the first few years of teaching, the Department has rolled out the Early Career Framework (ECF) nationally, providing the foundations for a successful career in teaching. This is backed by over £130 million a year in funding.The Department has also launched a new and updated suite of National Professional Qualifications for teachers and school leaders at all levels, from those who want to develop expertise in high-quality teaching practice to those leading multiple schools across trusts.

Construction: Education

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what specific steps she has taken to increase the numbers of students studying (a) bricklaying, (b) joinery, (c) plastering, (d) civil engineering, (e) plumbing and (f) roofing.

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what specific steps she has taken to increase the numbers of students  studying horticultural subjects.

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what specific steps she has taken to increase the numbers of students studying (a) IT programming, (b) IT hardware and network engineering, (c) cybersecurity and (d) data analysis.

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to increase the number of people studying (a) accounting, (b) architecture and (c) quantity surveying.

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what specific steps she has taken to increase the number of students studying (a) aeronautical, (b) chemical, (c) civil, (d) computer, (e) electrical and (f) mechanical engineering.

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has taken recent steps to help increase the number of people studying (a) broadcast and print media, (b) subjects related to theatre, (c) graphic design, (d) tourism and (e) sport and leisure.

Robert Halfon: To support more employers and learners to access apprenticeships the department is increasing funding in England to £2.7 billion by 2024/25. Employers have designed over 650 high-quality apprenticeship standards, across every sector, to support them to develop the skilled workforces they need. There are a range of apprenticeship standards available in these specific sectors such as:26 in digital3 in accountancy2 in architecture2 in quantity surveying4 in civil engineering1 each in aerospace engineering and electro-mechanical engineering97 in construction and built environment sector4 in horticulture56 in creative and design3 in broadcast and media2 in tourism3 in sports.T Levels include one or more occupational specialisms to provide students with the knowledge and skills needed for a particular area. For example, students taking the Onsite Construction T Level can choose from specialisms in Bricklaying or Plastering, and the Design and Development for Engineering and Manufacturing T Level includes specialisms in Mechanical or Electrical engineering. Other T Levels available include Accounting, Engineering and Digital, with Craft and Design, Media, Broadcast and Production available from September.The department has introduced Skills Bootcamps which offer free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills, with an offer of a job interview on completion. Skills Bootcamps around the country are available in many sectors covering digital, construction, arboriculture and agriculture, engineering, design for backstage theatre and many others.We have also launched the Free Courses for Jobs offer which allows eligible adults to access over 400 Level 3 qualifications (A level equivalent) for free, in subject areas including engineering, construction, digital, health and social care and accounting.In Higher Education (HE), the Strategic Priorities Grant is supporting teaching and students in HE, including expensive to deliver subjects, such as science and engineering. We are investing an additional £750 million over the next three years to support high quality teaching and facilities including in science and engineering. This includes the largest increase in government funding for the HE sector to support students and teaching in over a decade.Careers education, information, advice and guidance is a crucial first step to supporting individuals to access excellent education and skills training. Driven nationally by the internationally recognised Gatsby Benchmarks, secondary schools and colleges are embedding career learning in the curriculum and providing young people with tailored advice and guidance, including more opportunities to learn about skills and apprenticeships. Through our National Careers Service digital offer and campaigns, such as Get the Jump and Skills for Life, we are bringing together information about education and training courses into one place for learners of all ages.

Schools: Liverpool Walton

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his department has made of the adequacy of the level of funding for schools in Liverpool Walton.

Nick Gibb: The 2022 Autumn Statement announced significant additional core schools’ funding, increasing by £2 billion in 2023/24 and 2024/25, over and above totals announced at the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021. Taken together with the Dedicated Schools Grant allocations, core schools’ funding for both mainstream and high needs schools is increasing by £3.5 billion in 2023/24, compared to 2022/23. The core schools’ budget will total £57.3 billion in 2023/24 and £58.8 billion in 2024/25.The Institute of Fiscal Studies has said that this additional funding will fully cover expected increases in school costs up to 2024 and will take spending per pupil back to at least 2010 levels in real terms. That means 2024/25 will be the highest ever level of spending on schools in real terms per pupil.Mainstream schools in the Liverpool, Walton constituency are attracting an extra £2.5 million in 2023/24 compared to 2022/23 through the schools national funding formula (NFF). This is an increase of 2.2% per pupil in their pupil-led funding. Schools in Liverpool, Walton will attract over £87 million, based on the schools NFF. Constituency figures are based on an aggregate of school allocations.All schools in Liverpool, Walton will also receive additional funding through the Mainstream Schools Additional Grant. This additional funding is worth an average 3.4% per pupil in 2023/24.Final school level allocations will be announced in spring 2023.

Schools: Pay

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing a fully funded, above-inflation pay rise for all teachers and support staff.

Nick Gibb: The 2022 Autumn Statement announced significant additional core schools’ funding, increasing by £2 billion in 2023/24 and 2024/25, over and above totals announced at the 2021 Spending Review. This additional funding will bring the core schools budget to a total of £58.8 billion in 2024/25.The Government values the independent advice of the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB), and the final pay award decisions for 2023/24 will be determined in light of the STRB’s recommendations.Pay awards must achieve a careful balance between recognising the vital importance of public sector workers, whilst delivering value for the taxpayer, not increasing the country’s debt further and being careful not to drive even higher prices in the future. Sustained higher levels of inflation would have a larger impact on real incomes in the long run than the proportionate and balanced pay increases implemented following the recommendations from the Pay Review Bodies.The Government does not have a role in setting the pay scales for support staff. Support staff and teaching assistant terms and conditions are determined locally by employers.

School Meals: Nutrition

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to maintain a high nutritional value of school food, in the context of rises in the cost of food.

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to ensure that pupils have access to hot school meals, in the context of the rises in the cost of energy.

Nick Gibb: The Standards for school food are set out in the Requirements for School Food Regulations 2014 and are designed to ensure that schools provide children with healthy food and drink options, and to make sure that children receive the energy and nutrition they need throughout the school day. Schools have flexibility under the Standards to substitute food and regularly update and change menus. They may make changes if ingredients or meals are not readily available. There is no legal requirement that meals should be hot, but the Department expects all schools to routinely be offering a varied hot meal option to pupils.The Department recognises the pressures that some schools and suppliers may be facing due to rising costs. The Department is holding regular meetings with other Government Departments and with food industry representatives on a variety of issues, including public sector food supplies.This issue should be seen in the wider context of funding for schools. After the National Funding Formula (NFF) rates were set, the Department received additional funding from HM Treasury for core schools funding in 2022/2023, in recognition of cost pressures, which has been distributed through a schools supplementary grant.Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) are funded through a direct grant to schools. In June 2022, the Government announced an increase of £2.41 per pupil in UIFSM funding. Ordinarily, the new funding rates take effect from the start of the academic year. The Department recognises that schools are under cost pressures and some suppliers may have been forced to increase prices and so these increases have been backdated.The Chancellor set out in his Autumn Statement that schools will receive additional funding in both 2023/24 and 2024/25. This brings the core schools budget to a total of £58.8 billion in 2024/25, which is £2 billion greater than published in 2021. This £2 billion is new money, over and above what had been previously committed.

Leader of the House

Leader of the House of Commons: Recruitment

Christine Jardine: To ask the Leader of the House, how much her office has spent on headhunters in each of the last three years.

Penny Mordaunt: The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons has not incurred headhunter costs in any of the last three financial years.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Immigration Controls: Northern Ireland

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many border posts her Department plans to erect in Northern Ireland as a result of the Official Controls (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2023.

Mark Spencer: My officials have commenced work to assess how Defra will exercise the powers contained in the Official Controls (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2023. My officials have commenced assessment and will provide an update to the House in due course.

Immigration Controls: Northern Ireland

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of potential cost to the public purse of staffing border control posts as a result of the Official Controls (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2023.

Mark Spencer: A business case for the construction of SPS inspection facilities in Northern Ireland will be prepared. I will provide an update to the House in due course. The latest information available as to costs borne by DAERA is set out in my answer to the Rt Hon member for Lagan Valley of 28 November to PQ 92116.

Immigration Controls: Northern Ireland

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the cost of potential border control posts in Northern Ireland as a result of the Official Controls (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2023.

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of potential cost to the public purse of staffing border control posts as a result of the Official Controls (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2023.

Mark Spencer: A business case for the construction of SPS inspection facilities in Northern Ireland will be prepared. I will provide an update to the House in due course. The latest information available as to costs borne by DAERA is set out in my answer to the Rt Hon member for Lagan Valley of 28 November to PQ 92116.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Conditions of Employment

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if they will take steps to (a) publish an equality impact assessment and (b) consult with trade unions when proposing new HR policies for their Department; and if they will make a statement.

Mark Spencer: a) Equality Impact Assessments:i. An Equality Impact Assessment is carried out for all new HR policies in Defra. Our HR Policy Team routinely considers equality impacts in relation to new HR policies and significant changes to existing HR policies and takes advice as necessary from our HR Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Team to ensure compliance with our Public Sector Equality Duty.ii. For new policies and where there is a significant change in policy, staff networks are consulted in preparation of the Equality Impact Assessment to ensure that potential equality impacts are identified and addressed.iii. The Equality Impact Assessments are not routinely published but are available to staff on request.b) Trade unions are always consulted in the development of new HR policies in Defra, through regular meetings between Defra HR and trade union representatives.

Dangerous Dogs

Bob Seely: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to take steps to (a) ensure dangerous dogs are safe for other dogs to be around and (b) control breeding practices to prevent the breeding of dogs of a dangerous and aggressive temperament.

Rebecca Pow: Under section 3 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, it is an offence to allow any dog to be dangerously out of control. In December 2021, Defra published research in collaboration with Middlesex University investigating measures to reduce dog attacks and promote responsible dog ownership across all breeds of dog. In response to this research, we have established a Responsible Dog Ownership working group involving police, local authorities and animal welfare organisations. Conclusions and policy reform recommendations are expected later this year. Under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018, licensed dog breeders must take all reasonable steps to check that the dogs used for breeding have a good temperament, and must implement and be able to demonstrate the use of a socialisation and habituation programme for the puppies.

Recreation Spaces

Dean Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to increase access to green spaces.

Trudy Harrison: The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors for people’s health and wellbeing and are working to ensure this is safe and appropriate. We committed in our Environmental Improvement Plan published this week to work across government to help ensure that everyone lives within 15 minutes’ walk of a green or blue space. The Government is delivering a number of policies to increase access to nature including:Working to complete the England Coast Path which, at around 2,700 miles, will be the longest waymarked and maintained coast walking route in the world. Over 2,000 miles have now been approved as England Coast Path, with nearly 800 miles already open. It will also create 250,000 hectares of new open access land within the coastal margin.Delivering the £9m Levelling Up Parks Fund to improve green space in over 100 disadvantaged neighbourhoods in the UK.Designating Wainwright’s coast to coast route across the north of England as a National Trail.Delivering the £14.5m ‘Access for All’ programme, which consists of a package of targeted measures in our protected landscapes, national trails, forests and the wider countryside to make access to green and blue spaces more inclusive.Our commitment to the provision of safe and appropriate public access in as many woodlands as possible as set out in the England Trees Action Plan. The recently published Environmental Improvement Plan reiterates our commitment to publish our ambition for improving the quantity, quality, and permanency of woodland access.Through programmes with the Community Forests and Forestry England we are enabling creation of large scale publicly accessible woodlands near towns and cities.We continue to support land managers to provide woodland access through our Countryside Stewardship (CS) and England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) schemes.Under the new Environmental Land Management (ELM) offer, for woodlands, we are providing societal benefits by bringing people closer to nature, allowing long term permissive access for recreation and contributing to the rural economy.

Members: Correspondence

Mr John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to respond to the correspondence of (a) 17 October 2022, (b) 14 November 2022, (c) 15 December 2022 and (d) 17 January 2023 from the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay on a constituency case, references JB39225 and MC2022/21132.

Trudy Harrison: I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member. A reply will be sent shortly.

Neonicotinoids

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the (a) impact of the use of thiamethoxam on the UK’s bee population and (b) potential merits of banning the use of thiamethoxam.

Mark Spencer: Risks to bees were assessed as part of the process for considering whether to allow the use of Cruiser SB on sugar beet crops this year. The main area in which potential concerns were flagged was the risk to bees from thiamethoxam taken up by crops planted in the same field after treated sugar beet. For this reason, a restriction has been imposed on such crops which will significantly reduce that risk. Only a specific list of crops, none of which flower before harvest, are permitted to be planted within 32 months of treated sugar beet. This is one of a number of strict conditions designed to mitigate any impact of the treatment on bees and other wildlife.The Government continues to support the existing restrictions on neonicotinoids.  We will continue to ensure that decisions on the use of pesticides are based on careful scientific assessment of the risks, with the aim of achieving a high level of protection for people and the environment.

Horticulture: Vacancies

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the (a) number of vacancies and (b) level of skill shortages in the horticulture industry.

Mark Spencer: Defra is aware of the impact that labour shortages are having in the horticulture sector. We continue to work closely with industry to monitor the situation and to help our world-leading farmers and growers access the labour and skills they need. To inform future decisions on labour across the sector, Defra recently launched an independent review into labour shortages in the food supply chain. It will report in spring 2023.   A Seasonal Worker visa route was specifically designed to support the UK horticulture sector where growers typically require higher volumes of labour, for relatively short-term periods of time, in line with seasonal production peaks. On 16 December 2022, the Government announced that an allocation of 45,000 visas will be made available in 2023 enabling edible and ornamental horticulture businesses to recruit foreign workers for up to six months. This is an uplift of 15,000 visas compared to the allocation at the start of 2022. A further 10,000 visas are potentially available for horticulture should there be demand and contingent on sponsors and growers continuing to improve worker welfare standards. The Seasonal Worker visa route will continue to operate until at least the end of 2024. Defra will continue to work closely with industry to make sure that the workforce requirements for the food and farming sector are understood across Government.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Semiconductors

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, when the forthcoming UK Semiconductor Strategy will be published.

Paul Scully: The government has been reviewing the UK semiconductor sector and is leading the development of a strategic approach to the sector. The government intends to set out more detail in the forthcoming UK Semiconductor Strategy that will be published in due course.

Broadband: Prices

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has had recent discussions with the Competition and Markets Authority on mid-contract price increases on (a) mobile and (b) broadband contracts.

Paul Scully: This is clearly a very difficult time for families up and down the country who are struggling to pay their bills as a result of the global rise in the cost of living.On 23 January, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport met with Chief Executives from major broadband and mobile providers at which she asked them to consider carefully the need, at this time, for above inflation price increases and highlighted the impact they may have on those already struggling to pay their bills.In addition, Ofcom, the telecoms regulator, has rules in its General Conditions which ensure that any price increases which may occur during the length of the contract are clear, transparent and prominent at the point of sale.Both the Competition and Markets Authority and Ofcom are independent. The government engages regularly with Ofcom on matters relating to affordability of communication services, and we continue to carefully monitor retail pricing in the sector.

Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she will take steps to (a) publish an equality impact assessment of the Brexit Freedoms Bill in accordance with the public sector equality duty or (b) demonstrate due regard to equality in another way.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The equality impact assessment for the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill was published on 22 September 2022. This is available on the Bill page on www.parliament.uk via the following weblink: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/58-03/0156/REUL_Bill_Impact_Assessment_22-09-2022.pdf.

British Steel: Redundancy

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the potential job losses at British Steel.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Government is committed to securing a sustainable and competitive future for the UK steel sector. We understand that this will be a concerning time for British Steel employees following recent discussions between the company and union representatives regarding potential job losses, and we stand ready to support them. The Government has worked intensively with British Steel on a generous package of support, which, combined with shareholder investment, would help protect jobs and put British Steel on a sustainable and decarbonised footing. Whilst this is ultimately a commercial decision, we urge British Steel to continue discussions with us to reach a solution.

Construction: Vacancies

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent estimate she has made of the (a) number of vacancies and (b) level of skill shortages in (i) bricklaying, (ii) joinery, (iii) plastering, (iv) civil engineering, (v) plumbing and (vi) roofing.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Department does not produce assessments of construction vacancies or skills shortages. These are produced by the Construction Skills Network, which produces annual forecasts of demand for construction skills by occupation and by region and Devolved Administration. The forecast for the 2023-27 was published on the 18 January 2023, and identifies the need for 225,000 additional construction workers during that period, based on likely demand. This forecast is publicly available on the website of the Construction Industry Training Board: https://www.citb.co.uk/about-citb/construction-industry-research-reports/construction-skills-network-csn/.

Attorney General

Crown Prosecution Service: Finance

Ruth Jones: To ask the Attorney General, what the full operational budget for the Crown Prosecution Service was in each of the last five years.

Michael Tomlinson: Information on the budgets and expenditure for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is publicly available and can be found in the Parliamentary accountability and audit report sections of the annual reports. This includes CPS operational budgets which can be publicly accessed and does cover each of the last five years. The annual reports can be accessed here: www.cps.gov.uk/publication/annual-reports-and-business-plans

Attorney General: Conditions of Employment

Chris Stephens: To ask the Attorney General, if they will take steps to (a) publish an equality impact assessment and (b) consult with trade unions when proposing new HR policies for their Department; and if they will make a statement.

Michael Tomlinson: The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has a shared HR service with the Government Legal Department (GLD). Negotiations with recognised trade unions relating to pay and changes to HR policies are conducted by GLD, with the AGO adopting the final agreement. Equality Impact Assessments are discussed with the trade unions where appropriate, however the Civil Service Management Code (CSMC) does not place an obligation on departments to share this information with their representative trade unions, nor is there a legal requirement to publish such assessments.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Recruitment

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much his Department has spent on headhunters in each of the last three years.

David T C  Davies: The Office of the Secretary of State for Wales has spent nothing on headhunters in the last three years.

Ministry of Justice

Prisoners: Carers

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many care-experienced people were part of the prison population in 2022.

Damian Hinds: This question cannot be answered without incurring disproportionate cost.

Prisoners: Per Capita Costs

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average (a) prison population and (b) cost per prisoner was in 2022.

Damian Hinds: The unit costs for 2021/22 are not yet finalised and will be published in due course. In the meantime, the link below contains information around the previous year’s unit costs. This shows that the average population across the year was 78,959 and the overall cost per prisoner was £48,409 per annum.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prison-performance-data-2020-to-2021

Office of the Public Guardian

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he is taking steps to reduce the current backlog of cases with the Office of the Public Guardian.

Mike Freer: OPG are working hard to reduce the length of time that customers are currently waiting for their LPAs to be registered. To tackle the backlog of applications that arose during the pandemic and meet the increased demand for services, OPG have hired extra staff and teams are working overtime and across multiple shift patterns to ensure customers receive their LPAs as quickly as possible. OPG have introduced process efficiencies and continue to make sure they are doing all they can to improve the application journey for customers. These measures are starting to take effect and customers should see waiting times begin to reduce.The government is currently supporting the Powers of Attorney Private Members Bill led by Stephen Metcalfe MP. This Bill will facilitate changes to modernise the LPA service, with the aim to increase safeguards, improve user access and achieve sustainability for the OPG while keeping the LPA affordable for the public. It is expected that these changes could also have a positive impact on the time taken to register LPAs.

Prisoners: Children

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer from the Minister of State to the Question from the hon. Member for Bristol East on 22 November 2022, Official Report, column 142, what recent progress his Department has made on gathering data on the number of children affected by parental imprisonment.

Damian Hinds: The Prisons Strategy White Paper includes a commitment to improve the quality of the data collected and to improve the support provided.A significant factor in improving the quality of data and evidence is our ability to join up different sources of data, and we are delivering on this through our Better Outcomes through linked Data (BOLD) Project. BOLD is a £19.7m cross government Shared Outcomes Fund project which will link data to enable better evidenced and more joined up cross government services. The Programme concludes in March 2024.Through BOLD, we will explore data sharing to improve our understanding of the number of children with parents in prison and how parental incarceration impacts children’s outcomes, including education, employment and future offending.Changes have been made to the Basic Custody Screening Tool to enable us to collect data on entry to prison about how many primary carers are in custody and how many children under the age of 18 are affected by their imprisonment. The learning from the data collected will be incorporated into the findings from the BOLD programme.

Remand in Custody: Children

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the length of time children are remanded in custody.

Damian Hinds: We set out, in our January 2022 Review of Custodial Remand for Children, a number of steps to avoid the unnecessary use of custodial remand, and we are taking action to speed up the length of time spent on remand.The judiciary continues to work to prioritise cases involving Custody Time Limits, as well as prioritising cases involving vulnerable complainants and witnesses, including youth cases.

Youth Justice: Standards

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the number of cases currently awaiting a hearing in the Youth Court on the effectiveness of the youth justice system.

Damian Hinds: Cases involving young defendants are given priority, irrespective of the court in which they appear, and youth cases are continually reviewed to ensure that they are progressed as quickly as possible.There were 8,099 youth outstanding cases in magistrates' courts in England and Wales as at the end of September 2022, the most recent time period available. This includes any case involving a defendant under the age of 18 heard in the magistrates’ courts, not just those heard in the Youth Court. It is not possible to separate out statistics for the latter.At any one time there will always be outstanding cases – those for which evidence is being prepared for example. Other than the increase in cases due to Covid in 2020, the number of current cases is broadly in line with those over recent years and we do not anticipate any adverse impact on the youth justice system.

Prisons: Expenditure

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Ministry of Justice: spend control data for April 2022 to June 2022, published on 30 September 2022, if he will publish a breakdown of how the £15 million on Additional Commercial Professional Services was spent.

Mike Freer: There has been no spend under the proposed contract for “Commercial Advice & Professional Support for CCMD Projects”. The requirement has been reviewed and the contract will not be going ahead as originally anticipated. CCMD have since recruited a combination of permanent and interim staff to meet the immediate needs.

Secure Schools

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent estimate he has made of when the secure school will open.

Damian Hinds: The secure school is on track to open by Spring 2024. Our provider, Oasis Restore Charitable Trust, is continuing to develop the integrated education, health, and operating model for the secure school, including its safeguarding practices. They will also continue to engage with Ofsted and other key stakeholders throughout this process.

Reoffenders

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish a breakdown of original crimes committed by people who were subsequently convicted of a Serious Further Offence in each year since 2010.

Damian Hinds: Currently, this question could only be answered at disproportionate costs.His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) maintains a record of previous offending for supervised offenders, drawn from court records and other reliable sources of information. To publish a complete record of previous criminal convictions for every offender who is convicted of a serious further offence (SFO), would need to comply with the Statutory Code on the Publication of Official Statistics.SFOs are incredibly rare, with fewer than 0.5% of offenders supervised by the Probation Service going on to commit an SFO but each one is investigated fully so we can take action where necessary. We have also injected extra funding of more than £155 million a year into the Probation Service to deliver tougher supervision, reduce caseloads and recruit thousands more staff to keep the public safer.

Employment Tribunals Service

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what was the average time between a claimant receiving their employment tribunal claim and their first hearing each year from 2010 to 2022.

Mike Freer: The average time between a claimant receiving their employment tribunal claim and their first hearing each year from 2010 to March 2021 can be found in the table below. We do not hold the information for 2022. Waiting times have risen from 2019 due to the pandemic.Employment Tribunal, Average Waiting Time (in Weeks) from Receipt to First Hearing for the Period January 2010 to March 20211Calendar YearAverage Waiting Time (weeks)January to December 200831January to December 200927January to December 201030January to December 201130January to December 201231January to December 201327January to December 201436January to December 201530January to December 201629January to December 201730January to December 201832January to December 201938January to December 202046January to March 2021491 Data to March 2021 extracted from legacy database in line with published statistics.The data includes both single and multiple claims and is based on first hearings within the stated period.The data may differ slightly to that of the published stats as this data was run on a different date, specifically for this request.Data is taken from a live management information system and can change over time. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and is the best data that is available.

Ministry of Justice: Conditions of Employment

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if they will take steps to (a) publish an equality impact assessment and (b) consult with trade unions when proposing new HR policies for their Department; and if they will make a statement.

Mike Freer: The MoJ consults with Trade Unions in accordance with best practice and adherence to employment legislation. Equality Impact Assessments are developed for MoJ policies and published internally. The MoJ has no legal or business reason to externally publish an equality impact assessment as this is not required to comply with the obligations set out in the Equality Act 2010.

Children: Maintenance

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the current backlog of applications is at the Maintenance Enforcement Business Centre in Bury St Edmunds; and what the wait time is for each application to be processed.

Mike Freer: The information requested is not held centrally.

Ministry of Justice: Recruitment

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department has spent on head-hunters in each of the last three years.

Mike Freer: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Road Traffic Offences

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) completed prosecutions and (b) convictions were there in England and Wales in (i) 2019-20, (ii) 2020-21 and (iii) 2021-22 for (A) using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks, (B) driving or causing or permitting another person to drive other than in accordance with licence and (C) causing death by driving whilst uninsured or unlicensed.

Edward Argar: The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of prosecutions (completed in the magistrates’ court) and convictions, for the year ending June 2018 to the year ending June 2022, in the Outcomes by Offence data tool. Navigate to the ‘Prosecutions & Convictions’ tab and use the HO offence code filter to select the applicable offence:(A) 80901 - Using motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks (B) 80702 - Driving, causing or permitting a person to drive other than in accordance with a licence (full or provisional) (except HGV) (C) 00409 - Causing death by driving: unlicensed or uninsured drivers (MOT)

Cabinet Office

Ministers: Members' Interests

Dan Carden: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government plans to reform the Register of Ministers' Interests to require Members to declare offshore holdings.

Jeremy Quin: As set out in the published List of Ministers' Interests, Ministers are asked to declare their relevant interests in a number of categories. Of the areas Ministers are asked to give information about, this includes:their financial interests, including both assets and liabilitiesany blind trusts or blind management arrangements they have set updirectorships and shareholdingsinvestment propertiesSuch declarations are reviewed by the Permanent Secretary and the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Interests, and advice is provided accordingly. This advice includes whether an interest should be included in the public List of Ministerial Interests as part of the process of avoiding or mitigating any conflict of interest.

Ministers: ICT

Dan Carden: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2023 to Question 136766 on Ministers: ICT, if he will publish the Security of Government Business Policy.

Jeremy Quin: The Security of Government Business provides summary direction and guidance to ministers on security matters. In line with practices across successive Administrations, the Government does not comment on internal security arrangements for ministers.

Ministers: ICT

Dan Carden: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2023 to Question 136766 on Ministers: ICT, what assessment he has made of levels of compliance with this guidance across Government departments; and whether he has identified departments where compliance needs improvement.

Jeremy Quin: The Security of Government Business provides summary direction and guidance to ministers on security matters. This is expanded upon by Government Departments as relevant to a minister's roles and responsibilities. Expectations around the Security of Government Business are set out in the Ministerial Code.